The Department of Transportation awarded more than $22 million today to a proposed offshore wind manufacturing and port facility in Rhode Island.

The Quonset Development Corporation has been touted by Rhode Island officials — including Gov. Don Carcieri — as a crucial building block for offshore wind development in New England.  The facility has a deep port and two existing piers.  The lack of suitable port facilities is often cited by experts as a significant hurdle to the industry.

Deepwater Wind is working with Rhode Island to develop nearby wind farms and has a lease for 117 acres at the Quonset facility.  Deepwater’s work at the site is projected to create as many as 800 jobs, according to the Quonset Development Corporation.

The Transportation Department funding “will be used for pier maintenance, rail improvements and road reconstruction, which will support, among other things, producers of offshore wind power that will use industrial properties at Quonset as a base of operations,” according to the grant award.

The entire cost of the proposed upgrade is $36.49 million.  The federal grant is for $22.3 million.

The Transportation money will “improve access to industrial properties being marketed to alternative energy producers (particularly offshore wind), which will help increase energy independence.  Quonset is a transportation hub on the northeast corridor and is well situated to divert freight traffic from congested Interstates to sea and/or rail, making container barge feeder service viable.”