VA Offshore Wind: A Strong Foundation
Virginia officials have established a well-planned, extensive strategy to build out an offshore wind industry, including wind towers for electricity generation and the supply chain to support that extensive infrastructure and operations. The State’s big picture is ambitious: developing 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028.As currently envisioned, VA’s offshore wind development will likely start this year with two 8-megawatt wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This is a Dominion Energy pilot undertaken in partnership with the Danish wind company Orsted.
US' First Planned Floating Wind Farm Taking Shape
Plans for America’s first floating offshore wind farm are taking shape with the news that California’s Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) has selected a consortium to enter into a public-private partnership to develop the project off the Northern California coast. The consortium is comprised of Principle Power Inc., EDPR Offshore North America LLC, Aker Solutions Inc., H. T. Harvey & Associates, and Herrera Environmental Consultants Inc. and was one of six respondents to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued by the RCEA on February 1, 2018.
Bill Creates 1,600MW Offshore Wind Procurement
On August 1, the Massachusetts State Legislature voted on and passed Bill H.4568 An Act to Promote Energy Diversity. The bill passed the State House 157-1 and the Senate passed the bill shortly after midnight. It will now go to Governor Charlie Baker for his signature. This is the first legislation of its kind that includes a specific carve out for offshore wind at a scale necessary to create a viable market in the United States. The bill requires big utilities to buy up to 1,600 megawatts of off-shore wind energy. This bill marks the start of the U.S. Pipeline.
Ulstein Equipment Wins IRO Innovation Award
Ulstein Equipment B.V. was awarded the IRO Oil & Gas Innovation Prize for its Ulstein Colibri, a 3D motion-compensated crane add-on system for the purpose of increasing vessel operability. This aims to enable smaller and more cost-effective vessels to be used in harsher weather conditions. On Thursday, December 3, 2015, the biannual IRO Oil & Gas Innovation Event took place at ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where the three preselected companies presented their innovations and competed for the IRO Innovation Prize. The event participants voted Ulstein Equipment as winner for its Ulstein Colibri. The Ulstein Colibri is mounted on the tip of a crane.
Boost for Offshore Wind Energy
As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, develop domestic clean energy resources and cut carbon pollution, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Hopper today announced the release of an Environmental Assessment (EA) supporting a potential lease sale for more than 300,000 acres of federal waters off the coast of North Carolina for wind energy development. “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change, and today’s announcement marks yet another milestone in the President’s strategy to develop renewable energy…
