First Jones Act-Compliant Offshore Wind Vessel Hits the Water

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. offshore windfarm developer Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) said it put the first Jones Act-compliant turbine installation vessel in the water, representing something of a milestone for the fledging offshore wind-energy sector in the U.S.

Dominion said the wind-turbine installation vessel Charybdis was in the water, following the completion of welding operations for the vessel's legs and jacking system. Initial operations are to support the construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

"Charybdis is vital not only to CVOW, but also to the growth of the offshore wind industry along the U.S. East Coast and is key to the continued development of a domestic supply chain by providing a homegrown solution for the installation of offshore wind turbines," said Bob Blue, Dominion Energy's chair, president and chief executive officer.

Officials with the Interior Department toured the Charybdis last month. The vessel is designed specifically for the next generation of offshore turbines, which can boast a peak capacity of 14.7 megawatts (MW).

Charybdis initially will support CVOW, which will provide as much as 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of energy to about 666,000 average households. A pilot facility is in place, and the full-scale windfarm should be completed by 2026. Dominion expects the facility to have a 33-year lifespan.

Passed, in part, for purposes of national defense in 1920, the Jones Act stipulates that goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on ships built domestically, and crewed and owned by U.S. citizens. Dominion said that more than 70% of the steel used in the vessel's hull and infrastructure was sourced from suppliers in Alabama, North Carolina and West Virginia.

Currently, no full-scale vessels comparable to Charybdis comply with the Jones Act. To get around the requirements, offshore operations depend on smaller feeder vessels that may be in compliance with the law.

Dominion believes the larger, 472-foot vessel will be at least twice as fast as using feeders, but the overall budget for the project has run over. At an estimated $625 million, some $125 million over budget, the vessel is $300 million more than similar ships constructed overseas, according to a profile from the Cato Institute.

Colin Grabow, an associate director at the Cato Institute's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, is critical of the Jones Act. He said it's creating unnecessary expenses for offshore wind and, as a result, does little to incentivize further construction of Jones Act-compliant vessels.

"For offshore wind developers, this has to be the worst of both worlds," he wrote.

Chris Ong, the chief executive officer at offshore engineering group Seatrium (Singapore), which is building Charybdis, disagrees.

"The U.S.-built vessel will not only contribute towards reliable, affordable and clean energy, but also benefit local communities in creating a significant local know-how and job opportunities, paving the way for future growth in the U.S. offshore wind industry," he said.

Construction began at a shipyard in Texas. Its home port will be in Hampton Roads off the coast of Norfolk, a port that Dominion said would be the premier harbor for future offshore wind installations.

Offshore wind in the U.S. is in its nascent stage, though progress is accelerating. Last month, the federal government demarcated an area off the coast of Maine, New Jersey and Massachusetts that could support as much as 32 GW of wind energy.

The Biden administration set a goal of establishing 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and another 15 GW in floating offshore capacity by 2035.

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