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Offshore Wind Energy Industry News

07 Apr 2023

First Jones Act-compliant Offshore Wind Farm SOV Hits Halfway Mark

©Ørsted

U.S. offshore shipbuilder and shipowner Edison Chouest this week marked the 50-percent completion milestone for the U.S.-flagged ECO Edison, the first Jones Act-compliant wind farm SOV. Senior executives from offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource toured the Edison Chouest Offshore shipyard in Louisiana to see the progress on the SOV.ECO Edison will be delivered in 2024 and immediately provide operational support out of Port Jefferson, New York, for Ørsted and Eversource's joint venture offshore wind portfolio, which includes South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind.

30 Mar 2023

US Department of Energy Releases Offshore Wind Strategy

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its Offshore Wind Energy Strategy, a first of its kind, comprehensive summary of the Department’s efforts to meet President Biden’s goal to deploy 30GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.The strategy aims to set the nation on a pathway to 110GW or more by 2050.Deploying 30GW of offshore wind would provide enough power for 10 million homes, support 77,000 jobs, and spur $12 billion per year in direct private investment, says the DOE.The…

20 Mar 2023

GEOxyz Opens US Office

(File photo: GEOxyz)

Belgium-based offshore survey services provider GEOxyz announced it has opened its first office in the United States, located in New Brunswick, N.J., as it expands to serve the offshore wind energy industry on the U.S. East Coast"The renewable energy industry in the U.S. is an important market in full expansion and we are thrilled to establish a presence here," said Patrick Reyntjens, CEO of GEOxyz. "We have extensive experience in offshore surveying and we are eager to provide…

11 Jan 2023

Jones Act Uncertainties Persist in US Offshore Wind

© pauws99 / Adobe Stock

The Jones Act is a single sentence long, and yet somehow that reservation of U.S. domestic maritime commerce to qualified U.S.-flag vessels has spawned numerous complications with respect to offshore wind energy projects. Although not supported by prior experience, maybe 2023 will bring some clarity.U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary source of guidance for how the Jones Act applies. CBP issued its first two offshore wind rulings in May 2010 and February 2011 in the heady early days of U.S. offshore wind.

15 Nov 2022

GAC Opens Another Office in Taiwan

(Photo: GAC)

Global shipping and logistics provider GAC Group is expanding its presence in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region by establishing a new office in Taiwan’s second-largest port, Taichung.The port has constructed several tailor-made wharves to serve the offshore wind energy industry as the country looks to become the leading provider of offshore wind power in the Asia-Pacific region. “By opening an office at Taichung Port, we can now be closer to our project sites and respond more quickly to the growing needs of our customers…

10 May 2022

Fuel Tax Repeal Victory in New York State

Copyright MishaelPervak/AdobeStock

The New York State Petroleum Business Tax (PBT), Article 13-A levies a tax on fuel consumption of commercial vessels operating on the waters of New York State. The PBT has long been a source of contention for operators of tug boats and towing vessels transiting New York State waters because of the difficulty to accurately calculate the tax due the state. This led to many long drawn out audits of vessel operators by the state, resulting in unacceptable additional taxes, interest and fines.Over the years, multiple efforts were made by industry groups to repeal the PBT legally without success.

05 May 2022

U.S. Union Workers to Build Ørsted's U.S. Offshore Wind Farms

Credit: Ørsted

North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) and the offshore wind developer Ørsted on Thursday announced a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to construct the company’s U.S. offshore wind farms with an American union workforce. A statement on the agreement released Thursday reads: "A first-of-its-kind in the United States, the National Offshore Wind Agreement (NOWA) sets the bar for working conditions and equity, injects hundreds of millions of dollars in middle-class wages into the American economy…

26 Apr 2022

Guice Offshore Adds Three Vessels to Its Fleet

Guice Offshore's newest platform supply vessel GO Crusader was recently in Jacksonville, Florida preparing for its next mission. (Photo: Guice Offshore)

Louisiana-based offshore support vessel owner Guice Offshore (GO) has expanded its fleet with three new vessels, including another 170 ft. DP1 multi-purpose vessel and two 205 ft. DP2 platform support vessels.The vessels will operate as GO Explorer (170 ft. DP1 MPSV), GO Crusader (205 ft. DP2 PSV), and GO Adventurer (205 ft. DP2 MPSV). All are Jones Act-qualified and dually certified Subchapter L & I by the U.S. Coast Guard.The GO Explorer and GO Crusader recently completed special survey dry docks and upgrades…

25 Mar 2022

U.S. to Hold Offshore Wind Lease Sale for Two Areas in the Carolinas

For illustration -  ©Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

The U.S. will hold a wind energy auction for two lease areas offshore the Carolinas on May 11, the U.S. Department of the Interior said Friday, as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review.The lease areas cover 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay area that, if developed, could result in at least 1.3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes, the Department of the Interior said."The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting a robust clean energy economy…

07 Mar 2022

IMTRA to Rep KPM Marine in the US

(Photo: KPM Marine)

IMTRA, the manufacturer and importer of solutions and products for the marine, energy and transportation markets, announced it has partnered with KPM Marine to support the growing demand for crew transfer vessels (CTV), and offer vital equipment for fire and rescue vessels.Evolving with the offshore wind energy industry, KPM, based in Birmingham UK, has extensive experience with CTV companies and strong relationships with naval architects, boat yards and operators. KPM products were installed by Senesco Marine for WindServe Marine's offshore wind support vessel Odyssey…

03 Mar 2022

Crowley Takes Large & Leading Role In U.S. Offshore Wind

Crowley and ESVAGT have entered a joint venture to build and operate Jones Act-compliant SOVs in the U.S. market. (Image: ESVAGT / Crowley)

There’s often an upside to being among first-movers in an emerging industry, but many are often stifled by the risk inherent to new ventures. For Crowley, which today is leading the charge on a number of maritime fronts such as sustainability and decarbonization, the jump into U.S. offshore wind is being made with diligent planning, a team of experts, solid partners and 130 years of maritime and supply chain logistics experience in hand, each of which will help to mitigate the risk that comes with growing a new industry.Also key…

24 Aug 2021

Crowley, Massachusetts Maritime Academy Setting Up Offshore Wind Training

Credit: Crowley Maritime Corporation

Crowley Maritime Corporation and Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) said Tuesday they'd create a first-of-its-kind training and workforce development program dedicated specifically to the New England region’s offshore wind energy industry.The program will be certified by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO), a non-profit that sets international standards for safety training. The academy will coordinate with Relyon Nutec, the world’s largest provider of specialized instruction for energy and industrial sectors…

19 Aug 2021

First Offshore Wind Substation Installed in France

Credit: DEME Offshore

Belgian offshore installation firm DEME Offshore said Thursday it had installed the first offshore wind substation in France, at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm site. The installation of the 2,100-ton substation was carried out by Allseas' giant Pioneering Spirit vessel.This was also Allseas’ first job for the offshore wind industry, and it is the first “complete” installation job executed by Pioneering Spirit, as it installed the 50-meter tall supporting structure last weekend."The…

29 Mar 2021

U.S. Sets 30 GW Offshore Wind Target

Image by bhphoto/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a goal to expand the nation’s fledgling offshore wind energy industry in the coming decade by opening new areas to development, accelerating permits, and boosting public financing for projects.The plan is part of President Joe Biden’s broader effort to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, an agenda that Republicans argue could bring economic ruin but which Democrats say can create jobs while protecting the…

27 Jan 2021

Ex-TechnipFMC Director to Lead U.S. Dredging Giant's Foray into Offshore Wind

Eleni Beyko most recently served as director, Energy Transition for Americas at TechnipFMC, a global oil and gas services company. (Image credit:  GLDD)

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, a U.S.-based dredging services giant, on Wednesday announced the appointment of industry veteran Eleni Beyko as senior vice president offshore wind – a strategic growth area for the company. Beyko, who started on Jan. 25, brings more than 20 years' experience in program engineering, business leadership and project management in the automobile and offshore oil and gas markets. At GLDD, she is responsible for developing its offshore wind operations, including strategy and business development, tendering and project execution.

03 Dec 2020

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Plans First Jones Act Rock Installation Vessel

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's planned subsea rock installation vessel could be operational and available to the U.S. offshore wind market as early as 2024. (Image: Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation)

U.S.-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is developing a first-of-its-kind vessel to support America's burgeoning offshore wind industry.The nation's largest dredging services provider announced Thursday it is working with Ulstein Design and Solutions B.V. to design and develop the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act compliant, inclined fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation. The specialized vessel would be built at a U.S. Gulf Coast shipyard and could be operational as early as the first quarter of 2024, GLDD said.

09 Oct 2020

Keppel O&M Scores $442M Vessel Order in Offshore Renewables Sector

File Photo: Keppel

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said Friday it had secured a contract valued at approximately S$600 million (USD 442 million) in the offshore renewable energy industry.Sharing the news on Friday, Keppel gave little details on the client and the type of order. It said that the contract was with "an energy company" for the engineering, procurement, and construction of "a vessel for the offshore renewable energy industry."Keppel did not say when the vessel "for the offshore renewable energy industry" - most likely for offshore wind…

01 Oct 2020

Charter Signed for First-ever U.S.-flagged Jones Act Compliant SOV

Credit: Orsted

Offshore vessel operator Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) will build and operate the first-ever U.S. flagged Jones Act compliant Service Operations Vessel (SOV), used for offshore wind farm operation and maintenance works.Edison Chouest Offshore, Ørsted, and Eversource announced Thursday the execution of a long-term charter agreement for the provision of the SOV."The SOV will be engineered, constructed and operated by ECO as an integral part of the operation and maintenance of the Revolution Wind…

25 Oct 2019

Massachusetts Maritime Academy Opens Wind Training Facility

The crew transfer training facility is a critical component of a comprehensive safety training program to be offered by Mass Maritime. Image: MMA

Baker-Polito Administration Celebrates the First-in-the-Nation Offshore Wind Training Facility Located at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. MMA steps out in front to train the professionals who will make the coming wave of domestic offshore wind.Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides, and Stephen Pike, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, joined officials from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to launch the first-in-the-nation offshore wind crew transfer training facility.

11 Mar 2019

VA Offshore Wind: A Strong Foundation

© dell/Adobe Stock

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.

03 Mar 2019

DEME Offshore, SABCA Sign Drone Pact

Two Belgian companies - Aerospace industry supplier SABCA and DEME Offshore - have formed a partnership to use drones for inspection services in the offshore wind energy industry.SABCA, a leading tier 1 aerospace industry supplier and DEME Offshore, a worldwide leader in solutions and services for the offshore energy market, have entered into a partnership for the development and deployment of Unmanned Vehicles to perform surveillance and inspection works in the offshore industry.Complementing each other’s core experience and know-how, both companies are convinced that these innovative, advanced technologies have a game-changing potential to increase health and safety of their employees…

26 Jan 2015

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, create American jobs and strengthen the nation’s energy security future,” said Secretary Jewell.

07 Dec 2015

Ulstein Equipment Wins IRO Innovation Award

Image: Ulstein Equipment

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.