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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. offshore wind energy took a big step forward April 27 when construction began on the nation's first offshore windfarm, to be built off the coast of Rhode Island. Jeffrey Grybowski, chief executive of Deepwater Wind LLC (Providence, Rhode Island), was joined by Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation, and state business and labor leaders in marking the start of construction of the Block Island Offshore Windfarm. The ceremony was held at the marine construction firm that is fabricating pieces of the turbine's steel foundations.
At that event, Gov. Raimondo told attendees Rhode Island can position itself as a leader in offshore renewable energy. In remarks reported by The Providence Journal, she said, "Not only are we going to create jobs, we're going to rebrand ourselves as being more innovative and, over time, make Rhode Island a place that has lower energy costs, more diversified energy supply and greener energy."
Deepwater Wind is the developer of the 30-megawatt (MW), $300 million Block Island Offshore Windfarm off the coast of Rhode Island. Earlier this year, it gave Alstom S.A. (Levallois-Perret, France) notice to proceed with construction. The Block Island project is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2016. It will utilize five 6-MW, direct-drive Haliade-150 wind turbines.
In a statement issued after Alstom received the notice to proceed, Yves Rannou, senior vice president of Wind for Alstom, said, "This is a major milestone and the confirmation that this project, the first commercial offshore project in the U.S. for Alstom, will now materialize."
Anders Soe-Jensen, vice president of Alstom Wind Offshore, added: "Securing final financing for this ambitious project is an exceptional achievement for Deepwater Wind. We believe this project will highlight both the commercial and technological viability of offshore wind in the U.S., and we are proud to be part of the team making it happen. This is the start of a new chapter in sustainable energy for the U.S."
The project achieved financial close earlier this year. The project is located about three miles off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island.
The Block Island project could be the first of many offshore windfarms in the U.S. A recent assessment of U.S. offshore wind potential, conducted by ABB Limited (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.), concluded that the U.S. has sufficient offshore wind resources to support construction of at least 54,000 MW of offshore wind generation by 2030. That assessment, "National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study," recognized that offshore wind projects have high capital costs, but also create system-wide benefits that would help offset their high capital costs. The study said the approximate value of offshore wind generation was $41 per megawatt-hour, not far above average electricity costs today.
"Because of the higher capital costs, potential grid reinforcement requirements, and, to some degree, the uncertainties associated with first deployments of commercial-scale offshore wind projects," the report noted, "state policies requiring the purchase of power from offshore wind projects will be necessary. State policies can encourage offshore wind deployment by creating demand for this resource through renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that establish policy mechanisms based on the needs of the state--such as carve-outs, minimum requirements, or even aspirational goals."
The report noted that some states have "altered the regulatory paradigm" to allow for the inclusion of a broader range of benefits--including economic development, environmental benefits (e.g., carbon-free power), and energy benefits of offshore wind--in assessing the overall value of offshore wind power. Supportive state policies "are needed to recognize offshore wind's energy, environmental, and economic benefits, and to create demand for offshore wind," the report noted.
The federal permitting and siting process must be further streamlined in order to build more gigawatt-scale offshore wind projects over the next decade, the report continued: "Although great strides have been made to reduce the permitting schedule from the 12 years it took for Cape Wind to between two years and four years it is today, further enhancements by the multitude of federal permitting and regulatory agencies are needed. Further, if offshore delivery networks interconnect multiple entities (utilities; independent system operators, or ISOs; and regional transmission organizations, or RTOs), significant cooperation will be required to ensure the equitable distribution of cost burdens and benefits. This may require oversight at the federal level, but it is currently unclear what form of oversight might work best."
"Anyone who has stood on a beach along the Atlantic Ocean knows there is huge potential for offshore windfarms," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "However, as we saw with the Cape Wind project, not everyone welcomes offshore wind projects. Still, as the nation's generation portfolio turns over and cleaner resources are securing a larger slice of the pie, it makes sense to learn from Europe, where there are 50 offshore windfarms. What do the Europeans know that we don't?"
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
At that event, Gov. Raimondo told attendees Rhode Island can position itself as a leader in offshore renewable energy. In remarks reported by The Providence Journal, she said, "Not only are we going to create jobs, we're going to rebrand ourselves as being more innovative and, over time, make Rhode Island a place that has lower energy costs, more diversified energy supply and greener energy."
Deepwater Wind is the developer of the 30-megawatt (MW), $300 million Block Island Offshore Windfarm off the coast of Rhode Island. Earlier this year, it gave Alstom S.A. (Levallois-Perret, France) notice to proceed with construction. The Block Island project is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2016. It will utilize five 6-MW, direct-drive Haliade-150 wind turbines.
In a statement issued after Alstom received the notice to proceed, Yves Rannou, senior vice president of Wind for Alstom, said, "This is a major milestone and the confirmation that this project, the first commercial offshore project in the U.S. for Alstom, will now materialize."
Anders Soe-Jensen, vice president of Alstom Wind Offshore, added: "Securing final financing for this ambitious project is an exceptional achievement for Deepwater Wind. We believe this project will highlight both the commercial and technological viability of offshore wind in the U.S., and we are proud to be part of the team making it happen. This is the start of a new chapter in sustainable energy for the U.S."
The project achieved financial close earlier this year. The project is located about three miles off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island.
The Block Island project could be the first of many offshore windfarms in the U.S. A recent assessment of U.S. offshore wind potential, conducted by ABB Limited (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) (Washington, D.C.), concluded that the U.S. has sufficient offshore wind resources to support construction of at least 54,000 MW of offshore wind generation by 2030. That assessment, "National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study," recognized that offshore wind projects have high capital costs, but also create system-wide benefits that would help offset their high capital costs. The study said the approximate value of offshore wind generation was $41 per megawatt-hour, not far above average electricity costs today.
"Because of the higher capital costs, potential grid reinforcement requirements, and, to some degree, the uncertainties associated with first deployments of commercial-scale offshore wind projects," the report noted, "state policies requiring the purchase of power from offshore wind projects will be necessary. State policies can encourage offshore wind deployment by creating demand for this resource through renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that establish policy mechanisms based on the needs of the state--such as carve-outs, minimum requirements, or even aspirational goals."
The report noted that some states have "altered the regulatory paradigm" to allow for the inclusion of a broader range of benefits--including economic development, environmental benefits (e.g., carbon-free power), and energy benefits of offshore wind--in assessing the overall value of offshore wind power. Supportive state policies "are needed to recognize offshore wind's energy, environmental, and economic benefits, and to create demand for offshore wind," the report noted.
The federal permitting and siting process must be further streamlined in order to build more gigawatt-scale offshore wind projects over the next decade, the report continued: "Although great strides have been made to reduce the permitting schedule from the 12 years it took for Cape Wind to between two years and four years it is today, further enhancements by the multitude of federal permitting and regulatory agencies are needed. Further, if offshore delivery networks interconnect multiple entities (utilities; independent system operators, or ISOs; and regional transmission organizations, or RTOs), significant cooperation will be required to ensure the equitable distribution of cost burdens and benefits. This may require oversight at the federal level, but it is currently unclear what form of oversight might work best."
"Anyone who has stood on a beach along the Atlantic Ocean knows there is huge potential for offshore windfarms," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "However, as we saw with the Cape Wind project, not everyone welcomes offshore wind projects. Still, as the nation's generation portfolio turns over and cleaner resources are securing a larger slice of the pie, it makes sense to learn from Europe, where there are 50 offshore windfarms. What do the Europeans know that we don't?"
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
