South Fork: Powering Communities with the Jobs of Tomorrow

Last month Oceantic Network got a taste of the daily work life of the technicians, pilots, captains, port workers, and many others who are servicing America’s new, commercial-scale wind farms, South Fork Wind and Vineyard Wind I.???

As part of the first leg of our U.S. offshore wind jobs tour, we had the opportunity to visit a handful of key industry players in Rhode Island and Connecticut to witness how these initial projects have yielded jobs and other economic benefits for local businesses and communities. We visited a shipyard constructing crew transfer vessels (CTVs), toured a former Gulf of Mexico oil field vessel that had been retrofitted for offshore wind work in the Northeast, and observed assembly of advanced foundation components for the next project now under construction, Revolution Wind.?

But beyond the bustling ports and manufacturing facilities of the East Coast is a very real domestic supply chain that stretches across the U.S., reaching states in the Gulf, Great Lakes, West Coast, and even the landlocked South. Tracking this network of businesses and suppliers is one way the Network is showcasing how offshore wind has the potential to be America's next great industry.?

Want to learn more about the South Fork supply chain? Explore this deep-dive from Oceantic Network, and subscribe to this newsletter to keep receiving takeaways from our jobs tour of companies at the forefront of developing offshore wind in the U.S.?

To kick off our visit to Rhode Island, Oceantic Network member HeliService USA took us on a helicopter tour of the 12-turbine South Fork Wind (with some snazzy survival suits to boot) and wow — what an experience it was!??

HeliService USA founder & CEO, Michael Tosi , told us that since last June, about 6,000 people have passed through the doors of the Quonset State Airport flight terminal to receive transport to wind farms.

The veteran-owned company provided crew and part transfers through the construction of South Fork and Vineyard Wind 1 and will provide technician hoisting operations in the O&M phases of both projects. And with the construction of the 65-turbine Revolution Wind ramping up (we were lucky enough on our tour to see vessels at the project site preparing to install monopiles) there’s consistent work ahead for the company.?

Michael said HeliService USA has transported up to 180 workers per day when both helicopters are running. The company also recently started hoisting technicians directly to wind turbines for O&M work, a transfer method that's relatively new in the U.S.??

HeliService USA is one of the many businesses at the Port of Davisville and Quonset Business Park servicing the needs of offshore wind farms as they transition into their multi-decade O&M phase. (We’ll be introducing some of those companies in future posts and articles, so stay tuned).???

The port and business park look forward to supporting these O&M jobs, which are central to their strategic, long-term plans. Today, the Port of Davisville supports over 1,600 jobs, and Director Joe Riccio anticipates adding another 1,100 long-term permanent jobs with offshore wind, plus hundreds more during construction.???

“We’re positioning ourselves for what the offshore wind industry will look like 20 years from now,” Joe said.??

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Already, the port has invested $175M of a $234.5M Port Master Plan that includes retrofitted and new piers, longer-term plans for a R&D space, and other multi-modal facilities. The funding has been pieced together by the impressive team at Quonset Development Corporation using general obligation bonds, state capital funds, allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act, PIDP grants, and investment by QDC itself. They are now pursuing the last $40 million necessary to complete their funding. Grants have been a “lifeblood” for the port, Steven J. King, P.E. , Managing Director at Quonset Development Corp. told us.??

Competition remains fierce between all U.S. ports for limited funds to execute critical, high-cost infrastructure improvements –– not only for offshore wind but for other port uses as well. But they’ve been successful in large part because they consistently produce results and have a strong story to tell about American job growth driven by offshore wind. Even as Quonset and Davisville grow to accommodate offshore wind, they must also continue to provide world-class support for their other tenants, especially as the port remains one of the top 10 auto importers in North America.???

?Having a phased master plan to follow has helped them build flexibility into their new additions to support coexistence between all tenants. “Commerce begets commerce and success begets success,” Steve added.??

We’ll be posting more from our jobs tour here in the coming weeks, so be sure to subscribe and follow along!?