Plans for an offshore wind farm in view from the Gay Head Cliffs were approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior Tuesday.

Revolution Wind received the final greenlight from the federal agency to start construction on its farm about 14 miles southwest of Aquinnah. The project is the fourth major offshore energy development to receive approvals, joining Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind and another off New Jersey.

Revolution Wind, which will supply about 700 megawatts of electricity to Rhode Island and Connecticut, has been criticized by the chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) recently for its plans to build about 65 turbines. But federal officials were enthusiastic about the project Tuesday.

“President Biden has set an ambitious goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 — and I am more confident than ever that we will meet it,” said Deb Haaland, the secretary of the interior. “Together with industry, labor and partners from coast to coast, we are building an entirely new industry off the east and west and Gulf coasts.”

Ms. Haaland visited the Vineyard earlier this year and talked to tribal leaders about their concerns with offshore wind.

In a statement, Ms. Haaland said the federal government will continue to maintain open communications with tribal nations, states and others about potential challenges and opportunities for “the continued success of the U.S. offshore wind industry.”

The interior’s approval of Revolution Wind included the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s suggestion that the wind farm reduce its plans from up to 100 turbines to only 65. The decision was made in part due to the visual impacts on Aquinnah, where several of the 873-foot turbines will be visible from the historic overlook.

The interior’s approval also includes measures aimed at mitigating impacts to the loss of fishing in the area, reduced vessel speeds and protections for marine life.

In a statement, Revolution Wind said it expects to start onshore construction in the coming weeks and offshore work could start next year. The project is expected to be operational in 2025, according to the company.

Revolution Wind is owned by Orsted and Eversource. David Hardy, the chief executive officer of Orsted’s Americas division, said the company is excited to get construction started.

“With the federal Record of Decision, we now advance Revolution Wind to the construction phase, bringing good-paying jobs to hundreds of local union construction workers, keeping local ports busy with assembly and marshaling activities and further growing the local supply chain,” he said in a statement.

Unlike Vineyard Wind, which plans to have an operations center and a helicopter hangar on the Vineyard, Revolution Wind will not have its infrastructure centered on the Island. Instead it will be based in Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, has called for permitting of offshore wind turbine projects to slow down in order to consider stronger protections for the marine environment.

Revolution Wind in particular raised concerns with the tribe, and Ms. Andrews-Maltais felt the Biden Administration was pushing projects through in order to achieve the goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

“We’re chasing a slogan versus doing what’s right by our ocean,” Ms. Andrews-Maltais said in an interview earlier this month.

Because the turbines will be visible from several culturally important sites on the Island, Aquinnah stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in mitigation funds.

The town recently negotiated with Revolution Wind and another wind contractor, Sunrise Wind, to fund several improvements to the Gay Head Lighthouse and Aquinnah Circle. Both companies committed $825,000 total to lighthouse repairs, with Revolution Wind also committing $500,000 to improve the staircase at Aquinnah Circle and $50,000 to winterize the Vanderhoop Homestead.