(Reuters) The U.S. offshore wind industry reached an important milestone on January 2 when Vineyard Wind 1, the country’s first large scale project, supplied first power to the Massachusetts grid. “As the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm this is a fairly momentous event,” Ken Kimmell, Chief Development Officer for Avangrid, the Iberdrola subsidiary co-developing the... Continue Reading →
US Publishes Draft Bill to Boost Offshore Wind
(OW) Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has released a draft version of a bill that would streamline the offshore wind development process and get new sources of affordable clean energy on the grid. Senator Whitehouse requests feedback on his bill from all stakeholders, including federal, state, and local agencies, industries, developers, and communities. The Senator... Continue Reading →
EU Adds 17GW of New Wind Energy in 2023
(OE) The European Union has built 17 GW of new wind energy in 2023, with 3 GW of new capacity coming from offshore wind farms. The WindEurope data shows that Germany built the most new wind capacity followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The Netherlands built the most new offshore wind, including the 1.5 GW Hollandse... Continue Reading →
Rebuilding the Foundations of US Offshore Wind
Philip Lewis, Contributor (OE) 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.... Continue Reading →
Top 10 Things to Watch in Offshore Wind in ’24
(OE) Despite short-term obstacles driven by high inflation and interest rates coupled with supply chain issues, we maintain that the foundations supporting long-term offshore wind activity remain solid. As we prepare for the new year, let us look at 10 factors that will shape the offshore wind sector in 2024. 1. A Continuously Dynamic Energy... Continue Reading →
Vestas and Mitsubishi to Build First Offshore Wind Farms in Louisiana State Waters
(OW) Steelhead Americas, Vestas’ North American development arm, and Mitsubishi-owned Diamond Offshore Wind (DOW Wind) have signed operating agreements to build the first offshore wind farms in Louisiana waters. The State Mineral and Energy Board has approved a 6,162-acre property agreement for DOW Wind off the coast of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and a 59,653-acre... Continue Reading →
‘Historic’ moment for Uruguay/ANCAP: Shell, APA, and YPF seal deals for offshore hydrocarbon exploration
(OET) Uruguay’s state-owned energy company ANCAP has tucked a new milestone under its belt with the signing of contracts for four offshore blocks with three oil and gas players in line with the framework of the Open Uruguay Round that has been in force since 2019. As a result, the UK-headquartered Shell, the U.S.-based APA Corporation, and... Continue Reading →
US Gives Final Nod to Rhode Island’s $1.5 Billion Offshore Wind Farm
(Reuters) 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.... Continue Reading →
The $1 Billion Offshore Wind Prize for US Shipyards
Philip Lewis contributor (OE) The U.S. offshore wind market presents a $1 billion long-term opportunity to builders of crew transfer vessels (CTV) and service operation vessels (SOV) that will support both wind farm construction and long-term operations and maintenance. Unlike many of the construction vessels to be deployed on U.S. wind projects, CTVs and SOVs... Continue Reading →
BP seeks partnerships to navigate renewables storm
(Reuters) - BP (BP.L) is seeking partners for offshore wind projects in Japan and may invest in hydrogen technology companies to tackle inflation and equipment bottlenecks that have battered the renewables sector. The oil major plans to expand in low carbon energy in the coming decades as it seeks a long-term business model that can survive the... Continue Reading →