Top US Offshore Wind Market Updates in wk 15-16, 2020

Our pick of the most significant US offshore wind market developments in the last two weeks are listed below. You can get these emailed to you each week by signing up to the US OSW project tracker PDF here. It also includes infographics showing the permitting status of all US OSW projects.

Please send me your feedback and recommendations for additional layers of data. 

US Offshore Wind Project Updates

South Fork Project, New York. South Fork Wind Farm’s application filed to the New York Public Services Commission (PUC) in September 2018, is on pause as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 April the PUC announced that the application to construct, operate and maintain the South Fork Export Cable project, will not be heard until August, despite pleas from the developer company, Deepwater Wind.

The plan outlines the connection of the proposed project to existing mainland electric transmission and distribution system in Wainscott. Members of the Protection of Wainscott requested a 90-day postponement to hearings because of the pandemic’s impact around mobilizing public engagement. ?rsted had countered this, stating that a 30-day pushback was sufficient.

The presiding judge, Anthony Belsito sided with the longer delay, stating that staff and intervener testimony and exhibits will be conducted August 7, rebuttal testimony and exhibits August 28, with evidentiary hearings to begin on September 30.

The project is targeting a COD of 2022. Last month, ?rsted released a statement confirming that their plans for offshore development remain intact and construction schedules on-track, as things stand, despite the coronavirus outbreak. The company had indicated that its development plans could be impacted by localized permitting and tendering delays incurred through logistical challenges and resources reoriented to managing the fallout from the pandemic.

Despite the delay, ?rsted remains confident they can meet their existing schedule. “We don’t anticipate this extension will alter our project schedule, but we continue to closely monitor what, if any, impact the continuing crisis will have on South Fork Wind’s timeline,” said Meaghan Wims, a spokeswoman for ?rsted.

Empire Wind Project, New York. The Fisheries Survival Fund, alongside other advocacy groups, filed a notice of appeal to challenge Equinor Wind US LLC’s planned Empire Wind project development. The appeal refers to a 2016 attempt to sue the Interior Department which oversees the BOEM offshore leasing process. In 2018, that was quashed. Objections center around concerns that the project will disrupt scallop and squid fishing grounds and cause harm to other marine life.

US Offshore Wind Policy Developments 

National. The results of a national survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies in March were published by the American Wind Energy Association on April 9, with over 80 percent of participants (US voters) indicating support for offshore wind energy. That support was almost identical between Republican and Democratic supporters, the results showed. Key findings include:

88% of Republican survey participants understand offshore wind as a clean, renewable power source that reduces carbon emissions.

• 88% of Republican survey participants understand offshore wind as a clean, renewable power source that reduces carbon emissions. 
• 57 percent of voters think the wind energy industry will be more important to the country’s economy than oil and natural gas 10 years from now.
• 86% of Republican voters are more likely to support offshore wind when hearing the industry creates well-paying, stable jobs and improves economic revitalization for port communities and coastal states.

“Voters are strongly in favor of offshore wind energy, regardless of ideology or party affiliation,” said AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan. “Republicans and Democrats alike see offshore wind as playing a key role in the nation’s future energy portfolio, providing tremendous economic and environmental benefits and helping stabilize the cost of electricity

Gulf of Maine. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) – the 170 member coalition of fishery-dependent companies and associations committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses – sent a letter to 3 state governors and the Acting Director of the BOEM on April 14, requesting a six-month pause in the regulatory process for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy development in the Gulf of Maine. RODA, which represents several members in the Gulf, sent the letter to the governors of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, indicated concerns were rooted by observations of how offshore energy development has unfolded in other regions and “are very concerned that the same fragmented process will occur in their fishing grounds.”

The letter refers specifically to the planned use of floating offshore structures, with the associated mooring lines and flexible cabling making “any type of fishing – fixed or mobile gear – incredibly unlikely within a wind energy area.”

The pause request comes in light of RODA’s concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down an opportunity or public engagement during the regulatory process. Financial pressures exerted upon the industry as a result of the pandemic also restrict focus upon meaningful engagement in the regulatory process as resources are dedicated to forging commercial responses to the fallout of COVID-19.

The letter contained three additional requests. Creating a regional fisheries-driven working group should be pursued to overcome fragmenting stakeholders into state groups. RODA envisages the working group to provide recommendations to federal and state regulators for involving fishermen and incorporating fisheries science into decision making, mobilize fishermen to collaboratively map critical fishing grounds, and streamline requests for information.

Additionally, RODA is calling for the BOEM not to consider any unsolicited bids for renewable energy development within the Gulf, and for a more open exchange of information around offshore wind procurement goals, including details on availability, price, and environmental impacts. 

Virginia. Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act which was passed by the Virginia General Assembly in March. The act requires 5.2GW of offshore wind to be developed in Virginia waters by 2034, with nearly all coal-fired plants to close by the end of 2024, with all of the state’s electricity to come from 100% renewable sources by 2045, and for state utility, Dominion Energy, to be 100% carbon-free by that point. Northam also announced his plans to sign in to law amends to the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, which establishes a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions from power plants, in compliance with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

“By joining RGGI, Virginia will take part in a proven, market-based program for reducing carbon pollution in a manner that protects consumers,” Northam said. “I am proposing important refinements and I look forward to signing it into law soon.”

US Offshore Wind Infrastructure Investments

National, Strategy. A new partnership of Dutch offshore wind stakeholders and research institutions – the Partners for International Business (PIB) – was officiated with a video call agreement signing. PIB is set up specifically for the onboarding of Dutch knowledge and expertise within the US offshore wind market, setting up the Netherlands as a strategic partner for US development. The group will focus on sharing project development lessons and initiating trade missions to elevate Dutch exports to the market. Backed by the Government of Holland, PIB members include Sif Group, SPT Offshore, and Boskalls.

Supply and Service Contract Awards

Aker Solutions, Cognite. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded a partnership between Aker Solutions and Cognite a $2 million grant to develop a digital solution to enable monitoring of the condition of an offshore floating wind farm and its impact on the environment via live data streaming. Known as the NextWind Real-Time Condition Monitoring project, the grant has been awarded under the CEC’s Electricity Program Investment Charge (EPIC) fund. A digital twin model of physical offshore wind assets will be developed to assess conditions and integrity management. This real-time information will allow access and analysis of data to help reduce operating expenses and maintenance costs by improving production efficiencies. Making this data available to a wide range of users will allow for additional understanding around environmental and wildlife impacts to help reduce mitigation. EPIC provides grants for next-generation wind energy technologies designed to increase the competitiveness, performance, and reliability of wind generation whilst mitigating environmental impact and reducing costs.