Wind Energy News

The U.S. departments of Energy (DOE), Interior, Commerce, and Transportation has released a report summarizing their progress toward the goals of the Floating Offshore Wind Shot™, an interagency initiative to drive U.S. leadership in design, deployment, and manufacturing. The report shows that, since the initiative's launch in September 2022, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated over $950 million in planning, leasing actions, research, development, demonstration, deployment…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released two new studies on offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico.The first study, “Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Energy Hurricane Risk Assessment” analyzed hurricane risk to wind turbines operating in the Gulf of Mexico. This study concluded that as a minimum, an IEC ”Typhoon Class” wind turbine would be needed for the design of offshore wind turbines in more hurricane prone areas, such as in the Gulf of Mexico.The second study, “Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Opportunities and Challenges in the U.S.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a bill aimed at reevaluating and potentially revising existing offshore wind project plans, setting the stage for the state's goal of achieving 8,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2031.The bill signed on May 9 will empower the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to open proceedings to evaluate offshore wind projects, including offshore wind renewable energy credit (OREC) pricing.The bill, which facilitates the increase of the maximum amount of ORECs sold under certain conditions…

The first-ever American-built, owned, and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel (SOV) was christened during a ceremony on Saturday in the Port of New Orleans.Edison Chouest Offshore's (ECO) recently completed ECO Edison will play an integral part of the operation and maintenance of Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects as the U.S. offshore wind industry continues to ramp up in the U.S. Northeast.Built at ECO in-house shipyards in Louisiana…

Dominion Energy has announced that any reports that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project has been delayed are false and grossly misrepresent the facts.“On April 29, anti-wind groups filed a petition in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to delay CVOW construction using the same meritless arguments as have already been rejected before by the courts, including last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in relation to an offshore wind project in Massachusetts.

Installed offshore wind capacity in the U.S. grew to 242MW in the first quarter of the year from 42MW in the previous quarter, the Oceantic Network said in its report, showcasing a recovery in a previously volatile industry.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and, the Biden administration meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.The industry had a tough 2023 after developers wrote off billions of dollars in impairment charges due to high-interest rates…

“Wind Turbines: The Bigger, the Better” -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.

New York State on Friday stalled three major offshore wind-energy projects after General Electric Vernova GE.N changed the turbine design, which the state said "materially altered" the plans.New York provisionally approved the projects in October 2023. They are Attentive Energy One being developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation; Community Offshore Wind, which is backed by RWE and National Grid Ventures; and Vineyard Offshore's Excelsior Wind.But since then…

Port of Aberdeen has stepped closer to becoming a strategic hub for floating offshore wind, with its proposed South Harbour upgrade project progressing to Stage 2 ‘priority’ status in the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council’s (SOWEC) strategic investment model.The significant upgrade involves a capital dredge project to deepen 750 meters of quayside to  -14.5 meters chart datum, providing suitable depth for the majority of ScotWind and INTOG project turbine designs.Combined with South Harbour’s expansive laydown area and ultra heavy-lift capacity…

Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has signed a contract to provide its vessel Wind Scylla for the installation of offshore wind turbines for an undisclosed client.The contract is valued between $75 million and $150 million, including both the firm period and potential options.The installation work is set to start in 2025 with Wind Scylla vessel, according to Cadeler.During the project duration, spanning between 300 and 550 days, the client will utilize Cadeler’s team…

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will initiate an environmental review of Vineyard Northeast’s proposed offshore wind energy project, located 29 miles offshore Nantucket, Massachusetts at its closest point. BOEM estimates the proposed project would generate up to 2,600MW of electricity, enough to power more than 900,000 homes with clean renewable energy. The approximately 132,370-acre Lease Area is located some 29 miles (mi) from Nantucket and approximately 39 mi offshore Martha’s Vineyard…

The German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation said the government's decision to help fund the expansion of an offshore terminal is important to achieve expansion goals for wind energy at sea.In a statement late Friday, the foundation said it welcomed a government move to contribute to the costs of expanding the terminal at the port of Cuxhaven, on the North Sea coast.The government has agreed to finance the 30-hectare (74 acres) expansion of the offshore terminal, together with the state of Lower Saxony and the private port industry…

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

One of the largest port-infrastructure companies Euroports and Spanish offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster cooperation in supply chain and ports infrastructure for the delivery of offshore wind in Europe.The strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in building capabilities and infrastructure critical to establish an offshore wind energy sector.Euroports, with its distinguished reputation as a premier offshore wind port operator…

Germany's top utility RWE has signed a Letter of Support with the Port Authority of A Coruña to facilitate the scaling-up of the port capacity in support of the Spanish government’s floating wind targets.Working together under a Letter of Support, the partners will investigate the potential for transforming infrastructure at the Port of Coruña, in northwest Spain, into a logistic hub for the marshalling, assembly and deployment of major components for commercial-scale floating…

Industry trade group the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) announced the addition of four CEOs to its board of directors.The new board members include Wes Bordelon, Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon Marine; Stacy Jo Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Offshore Oil Services, Inc.; David Dantin, Chief Executive Officer, Odyssea Marine; and Lasse Petterson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock."With the addition of these four executive leaders, OMSA pays homage to its roots while welcoming expanded opportunities in emerging energy frontiers…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will initiate the environmental review of a proposed wind energy project offshore New Jersey.At its closest point, the approximately 81,129-acre lease area, OCS-A 0549, known as Atlantic Shores North, is located 8.4 miles from the New Jersey coast and approximately 60 miles from New York.The Atlantic Shores’ proposal currently includes installation of up to 157 wind turbine generators, eight offshore substations, one permanent meteorological tower, and two temporary metocean buoys - for a total of up to 168 offshore structures.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized its designation of a Wind Energy Area (WEA) in the Gulf of Maine. The Final WEA has the potential to support generation of 32GW of clean energy, surpassing current state goals for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine: 10GW for Massachusetts and 3GW for Maine. The WEA totals about two million acres offshore Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, ranging from approximately 23 – 92 miles off the coast.BOEM finalized the WEA after extensive engagement with the states of Maine…

Ørsted has installed and powered up all 12 turbines at the landmark South Fork project, and the first utility-scale U.S. offshore wind farm has started delivering power to Long Island and the Rockaways, offshore New York.The commissioning of the wind farm is in its final stage, and when at full capacity of 130 MW, it will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 70,000 homes.The renewable energy is generated roughly 35 miles off the coast of Montauk, and will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the life of the project…

A record year for building new wind farms and a rebound in investments in the sector have raised hopes that the EU may achieve its clean energy targets, industry group WindEurope said on Wednesday.In an annual report, WindEurope described 2023 as a year of "significant improvements" in key areas of Europe's wind energy sector, which struggled in 2022 with soaring inflation, interest rates and volatile energy markets after Russia invaded Ukraine.Investments in European offshore wind last year jumped to 30 billion euros, up from the scant 0.4 billion euros that were invested in 2022.

There is no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. offshore wind market. Citing macroeconomic factors including high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, Ørsted announced on October 31 that they were ceasing the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects, which were scheduled for construction off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the troubling news has continued into the new year, with Equinor and BP announcing on…

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Crowley Wind Services and the City of Salem announced the transfer of ownership and an agreement for site improvements and ongoing operations for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal.The agreement will kickstart the transformation of the site into the second port built specifically to support the construction of offshore wind farms in Massachusetts. The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal will also support the construction and installation…

The government of Maine has selected a section of state-owned area on Sears Island as its preferred site for a port facility development that will support the floating offshore wind industry.The selection of the site, announced by the Governor of Maine Janet Mills, follows an extensive public stakeholder process led by the Maine Department of Transportation and Maine Port Authority to consider the state’s primary port development options, including multiple potential sites in the Port of Searsport…