PROVIDENCE — State leaders joined representatives of Deepwater Wind LLC at the opening Monday of the alternative-energy company’s Rhode Island office.

The Exchange Terrace office in downtown Providence is considered yet another signal that the New Jersey-based developer is committed to developing two offshore wind farms off the Rhode Island coast.

Governor Carcieri, a vocal supporter of Deepwater’s $1.5-billion project to install more than 100 turbines, called Monday afternoon’s event a “statement” and said that Rhode Island is positioned to be the first state in the country to harness offshore wind energy.

“This is such a pivotal point,” he told a crowd of about two dozen people. “We are right in line. We are at the head of the line, in fact, right now.”

The governor and other state officials say that Deepwater will not just provide clean energy to the state. They are banking on the company establishing a manufacturing base in the Quonset Business Park, in North Kingstown, and attracting other “green” technology firms, including the makers of turbine blades and other components.

Deepwater has signed a letter of intent with the Quonset Development Corporation to lease 117 acres in the state-owned business park to use as a staging area. The company would ship turbine components to the park, assemble them and then transport them out to sea for installation at two sites — one about 3 miles from Block Island and the other at least 15 miles from the Rhode Island coast. The company is expected to sign 10-year leases on the land at the end of June.

Deepwater says its project will create 800 jobs in construction and design, which could last beyond the Rhode Island projects if the company is able to move forward with proposals in New Jersey and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast.

J. Michael Saul, interim director of the state Economic Development Corporation, said Monday that there is a potential $50-billion market for offshore wind stretching from Maine to Delaware.

State Senate president M. Teresa Weed drew parallels between the potential development of the alternative-energy industry and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century.

“This is the first step in what I hope will be Rhode Island’s green revolution,” she said.

akuffner@projo.com