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Connecticut News

26 Feb 2024

Will 2024 Settle the Turbulence of US Offshore Wind?

(Photo: Avangrid)

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…

20 Feb 2024

Shipping Industry Influencers to Join Commodores’ Debate at CMA Shipping 2024

(Photo: CMA Shipping)

Dorian LPG, International Seaways Ship Management LLC, Poten & Partners, d’Amico and TEN Ltd. all confirmed for the CMA Shipping 2024 Commodores’ Debate rounding off three days of thought-leading content from March 12-14 in Connecticut.A highlight of the Stamford-based show, the Commodores’ Debate brings past and present CMA Commodores together to discuss the key issues and opportunities facing shipowners today and in the future.Moderated by Marine Money’s Jim Lawrence, the debate will focus on the meaning of business excellence during a time of disruption and market volatility.

13 Feb 2024

US Finalizes Two Offshore Wind Energy Areas in Oregon

BOEM has designated two final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) off the Oregon coast, the Coos Bay WEA is 61,204 acres and  located approximately 32 miles (mi) from shore. The Brookings WEA is 133,808 acres and  approximately 18 mi off the coast. If fully developed, the Final WEAs could support 2.4 GW of energy production. (Image: BOEM)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday finalized two wind energy areas (WEAs) in the offshore Oregon region, aligning with government goals to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power along U.S. coastlines this decade to fight climate change.The two WEAs, Coos Bay WEA and Brookings WEA, are spread across 195,012 acres (78,919 hectares) and "the department continues to take steps to evolve its approach to offshore wind to drive towards union-built projects and a domestic-based supply chain," said the agency, which is part of the U.S.

31 Jan 2024

Navigating Disruption: CMA Shipping 2024 Unveils Agenda and Speaker Lineup

Knut Orbeck-Nilssen, Chief Executive Officer, DNV (Photo: CMA Shipping)

C-Suite leaders of ABS, Panama Canal Authority, BIMCO, INTERCARGO, IACS, DNV, Stena Bulk, Hapag-Lloyd, IBIA, International Seaways and many more have been announced for the conference lineup at CMA Shipping 2024.With just six weeks to go, eager anticipation is growing for the 39th edition of CMA Shipping taking place in Stamford, Conn., from March 12-14, 2024.The conference agenda promises to highlight pertinent issues surrounding the future of shipping, and how the industry can navigate challenges such as the energy transition, crewing and education, safety and compliance.

24 Jan 2024

New Jersey Approves Two Giant Offshore Wind Power Projects

© Global Image Archive / Adobe Stock

New Jersey's utility regulator on Wednesday approved two offshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of 3,742-megawatts (MW) whose backers include Invenergy and TotalEnergies.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But progress was slow last year after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey…

18 Jan 2024

Three New England States Extend Offshore Wind Solicitation Due Date

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island extended on Thursday the date bids are due in the states' next offshore wind solicitations from Jan. 31 to March 27.Offshore wind is expected to play a critical role in U.S. President Joe Biden's and several states' plans to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But offshore wind industry had a tough time in 2023 with some developers cancelling contracts to sell power in several states because their proposed projects were no longer economic due to soaring inflation…

18 Jan 2024

Not All Underwater Reefs are Made of Coral

The South Carolina Army National Guard and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources turns unused armored carrier vehicles into an artificial reef off the coast of Beaufort, S.C. in 2014. (Courtesy photo by Phillip Jones/South Carolina Army National Guard)

When people hear about underwater reefs, they usually picture colorful gardens created from coral. But some reefs are anchored to much more unusual foundations.For more than a century, people have placed a wide assortment of objects on the seafloor off the U.S. coast to provide habitat for marine life and recreational opportunities for fishing and diving. Artificial reefs have been created from decommissioned ships, chicken transport cages, concrete pipes, rail cars and more.We study how ocean-dwelling fish use artificial reefs in the U.S. and beyond.

11 Jan 2024

Rebuilding the Foundations of US Offshore Wind

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

As we enter a New Year, the memories of the shocks to the foundations to the U.S. offshore wind segment remain fresh. In short, supply chain inflation and capacity/availability, interest rate increases, and tax credit monetization have been the key themes highlighted by developers to explain why many projects became commercially unviable.Several Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have reacted rapidly, accepting the termination of power sales & purchase agreements and allowing the canceled projects to be rebid into new solicitations.

03 Jan 2024

Equinor, BP Cancel Contract to Sell Offshore Wind Power to New York

© nblxer / Adobe Stock

European energy firms Equinor and BP  terminated their agreement to sell power to New York state from their proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, citing rising inflation, higher borrowing costs, and supply chain issues."This agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities," Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday, in an apparent reference…

03 Jan 2024

Vineyard Wind Supplies First Power to Grid

(Photo: Vineyard Wind)

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid said on Wednesday their joint venture Vineyard Wind began generating power for the first time, supplying five megawatts (MW) to the New England grid.The project is expected to have five turbines operating at full capacity in early 2024, the companies said.The announcement comes after offshore wind projects in the United States faced financial troubles in recent months on account of soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and increased project costs due to supply chain issues.The 806-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, offshore construction of which began

26 Dec 2023

US Offshore Wind Poised for 2024 Success After Turbulent 2023

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

The U.S. offshore wind industry is eying a brighter 2024, with work expected to start on several projects following a year marked by stalled developments and billions of dollars in write-offs.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But progress slowed in 2023 after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey…

08 Dec 2023

The Curious Case of the 1,200 MW Transmission Size “Limit” in New England

Copyright Herr Loeffler/AdobeStock

How the Maximum Contingency of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No.

07 Dec 2023

US Gives Final Nod to Rhode Island's $1.5 Billion Offshore Wind Farm

(Photo: Orsted)

The U.S Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council on Thursday approved the construction of a $1.5 billion offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.The project, Revolution Wind, is run by Danish company Orsted and U.S.-based Eversource, and would bring a total of 704 megawatts (MW) clean energy to Connecticut and Rhode Island.Another offshore project by the two wind energy developers, the South Fork wind farm off the coast of New York, delivered its first power to the state's power grid on Wednesday.Offshore wind development has been a priority for the Biden administration.

30 Nov 2023

New York Launches Offshore Wind Solicitation

© Karolis / Adobe Stock

New York released a new offshore wind solicitation on Thursday to keep the state on track to meet its renewable energy goals and support a nascent industry that has faced financial trouble in recent months.Offshore wind is expected to play a major role in New York's plan to reduce carbon emissions by getting 70% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It is also a pillar of President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonize the U.S. power grid and combat climate change.The state said it is supporting the development of 9…

27 Nov 2023

Study Calls for 'Liberation of Data' in Shipping Shift for Decarbonization

Interconnection of disparate shipboard systems is seen as necessary to drive digitalization for enhanced operational efficiency. Image: BV

Siloed data systems represent a “recipe for duplicative and multiplicative cost inside a company and across companies”, an OrbitMI-hosted panel at the recent Shipping Insight event in the US was told, as a Bureau Veritas-backed study highlighted this as a big barrier to data collaboration for digitalization of shipping to cut emissions.Vast amounts of data are generated from ship operations - such as from sensors onboard or vessel performance management systems - as well as from…

15 Nov 2023

Digitalization: Maritime Charts its Course

Data collaboration among maritime players will be vital to facilitate more efficient ship performance as operations become more digitalised. Photo: Shutterstock

Maritime players plotting pathways to data collaboration with digital projects in line with new BV-backed research study.Digital technologies are increasingly being leveraged by shipping players to facilitate data collaboration among different actors in areas like ship design, vessel performance and port calls as a new Thetius research study backed by Bureau Veritas (BV) shows this will be vital to drive decarbonization, an OrbitMI-hosted panel heard at the recent Shipping Insight event in the US.“Data-powered…

06 Nov 2023

Ship Shortage Dealt Death Blow to Orsted's New Jersey Offshore Wind Hopes

Credit: Ian Dybal/AdobeStock

Danish energy firm Orsted's shock decision to cancel two offshore wind farms off New Jersey this week was based in large part on big delays securing the ship it needed to build the project, company officials said.The world's biggest offshore wind farm company on Tuesday said it would cease all development on the Ocean Wind projects even as it moves forward with developments off neighboring New York, triggering an angry response from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.The decision…

03 Nov 2023

US Awards More than $653 Million for Port Projects

© druid007 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

31 Oct 2023

US Offshore Wind Writedowns Seen Soaring with Orsted Earnings

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

European energy companies, including Denmark's Orsted, will likely write down more of their U.S. offshore wind investments this week after BP and Equinor booked $840 million in impairments in recent days.Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, said in August it may see impairments of 16 billion Danish crowns ($2.3 billion) on its U.S. offshore developments due to supply chain problems, soaring interest rates and a lack of new tax credits.Orsted, which was not immediately available for comment…

09 Oct 2023

The Headwinds of US Offshore Wind Development

© nblxer / Adobe Stock

On March 29, 2021, President Biden announced his ambitious plan to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power – enough energy to power 10 million U.S. homes – by 2030. The plan would leverage authorities under the Department of Interior, Energy, and Commerce to guide “more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both U.S. coasts, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity.” The U.S.

09 Oct 2023

US Committed to Tackling Offshore Wind Challenges -Intelatus

© Chirapriya / Adobe Stock

Despite the negative headlines around the longer-term prospects for the U.S. offshore wind segment, business intelligence company Intelatus Global Partners sees continued efforts by the federal government and, in particular, the East Coast states to find solutions to the challenges faced by the industry as whole, which can be grouped under three headings: high inflation, supply chain development and high interest rates.On the side of the federal government, offshore wind leasing and permitting is being prioritized over oil and gas development.

04 Oct 2023

New England States Buy Offshore Wind Power as US Industry Struggles

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

Three U.S. states in New England - Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut - on Wednesday agreed to jointly procure offshore wind power as soaring interest rates and rising equipment and labor costs have made some projects uneconomic.By joining forces, the states hope to counter the pain rippling across the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, which is expected to play a key part in decarbonizing the power sector and revitalizing domestic manufacturing.Earlier this week, another…

03 Oct 2023

General Dynamics Electric Boat Wins $967 Million Contract

General Dynamics Electric Boat, a business unit of General Dynamics, wasn awarded a $967 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy for Lead Yard Support and Development and Design efforts for Virginia-class fast-attack submarines.The cost-plus-fixed fee modification to a previously awarded contract totals $967,185,528. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut; McLeansville, North Carolina; Newport News, Virginia; and Newport and Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Work is expected to be completed by October 2024. This contract was awarded on September 29. 2023.Virginia-class submarines are designed for the full range of 21st-century mission requirements…

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