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Offshore wind developers building Northeast supply chain

September 27, 2019 — Offshore wind energy developers are moving to set up their first U.S. manufacturing and support bases, sensing momentum in the market with New York and New Jersey seeking a combined 12 gigawatts of new energy by 2030.

A daylong conference at the State University of New York Maritime College on Thursday brought together wind companies, state officials and the maritime industry to talk about the industry’s coming workforce needs and potential for job growth.

The world’s biggest wind company, Denmark-based Ørsted, has an agreement with a German steelmaker to set up a manufacturing hub in southern New Jersey to finish turbine foundations for its Ocean Wind project off Atlantic City, said Fred Zalcman, who heads market development for its U.S. division.

Another winner could be upstate New York, where Ørsted and Equinor are looking to the Hudson River ports of Coeymans and Albany as bases for manufacturing, floating massive turbine components downriver for eventual transport to assembly at sea on the companies’ federal energy leases.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Four things to know about Dominion’s massive wind farm proposal

September 24, 2019 — Dominion Energy announced last week it filed plans to build what would be the United States’ largest offshore wind farm, capable of producing 2,600 megawatts of energy, or enough to power 650,000 homes.

The news was heralded by environmentalists as an important step in the state’s transition away from fossil fuels, one in line with Gov. Ralph Northam’s recent executive order pledging that Virginia’s electric grid would be carbon free by 2050.

But many question marks remain around the three-phase project, which Dominion says will be complete by 2026 and will cost an estimated $7.8 billion. Here’s four key things to know about the current state of wind energy in Virginia, what and how offshore wind is being developed elsewhere and what comes next.

1. Virginia has pledged to make its electric grid carbon free by 2050. But the state currently has no wind energy in its portfolio.

When it comes to words, Virginia has made a strong commitment to wind energy. The sweeping 2018 Grid Transformation and Security Act declared the development of 5,000 megawatts of solar and wind energy to be “in the public interest,” and Virginia’s 2018 Energy Plan recommended that Northam set a goal of developing 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2028. Northam’s Executive Order 43, which committed the state to a carbon-free grid by 2050, increased that goal to 2,500 megawatts of offshore resources and set a new deadline for its development of 2026.

Read the full story at The Virginia Mercury

Ørsted to deploy record size turbines in Atlantic City offshore wind farm

September 24, 2019 — The 1,100 megawatt Ocean Wind offshore wind farm to be built off the coast here will deploy a new generation 12 megawatt turbine that will be the largest and most powerful in the world, according to the developer of the project.

GE Renewable Energy will supply the newly developed turbines to the Atlantic City project, which will be the third largest wind farm in the world and open in 2024, Danish company Ørsted announced Thursday.

In March 2018, GE announced it was embarking on producing the world’s first 12 MW turbine, which some in the industry said could not be done.

While Ørsted recently announced it will mainly transmit Ocean Wind’s electricity into the grid at the closed Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township, it also is still looking at sending some power through other New Jersey locations.

“There are a couple of other options we are looking at, including B.L. England,” Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind, said of the closed electric generating plant in Beesleys Point, Upper Township.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

An $8 Billion Wind Farm Will Test Virginia’s Resolve to Be Green

September 23, 2019 — Dominion Energy Inc.’s customers have been pressing the Virginia utility giant for years to source more clean energy. On Thursday, the company heeded their call — with a $7.8 billion, ratepayer-backed plan to build the largest offshore wind farm in America.

The proposal is unprecedented. Never has a utility pitched an offshore wind project of this size — big enough to power 650,000 homes — and in such a way that would have its customers shouldering the costs. It still needs the approval of state regulators, and the blessing of others including the region’s grid operator. But the Richmond-based company is already promoting the plan as a major means of curbing its global-warming emissions 55% by 2030.

In proposing the wind project, Dominion Vice President Mark Mitchell said, the utility is “giving our customers what they have asked for — more renewable energy.”

Already, though, some of its big ratepayers are choosing to take another route. Customers including Costco Wholesale Corp. and Kroger Co. applied for the right to bypass Dominion and negotiate directly with independent electricity suppliers for renewable energy. On Wednesday, less than 24 hours before Dominion announced is massive wind project, the Virginia State Corporation Commission gave them what they wanted, ruling that the utility must allow them to seek other options.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Ørsted wants offshore wind energy in harmony with fishing community, others, says Frederick Zalcman

September 23, 2019 — Building large-scale infrastructure in the public trust is a profound responsibility. It requires technical skill, capital and, critically, a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to engaging with stakeholders – listening, asking questions and adapting to differing perspectives. That’s why I was pleased to learn Rep. Jeff Van Drew was bringing together the South Jersey community, including representatives of the fishing community and other local businesses, to talk about the development of the new American offshore wind industry, and how it may affect New Jersey.

This is important because offshore wind is poised to be a huge new industry on the East Coast, with projects underway by many developers spanning from Massachusetts to North Carolina. As the world’s largest operator of offshore wind projects, and proud developer of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, we believe this new American industry will not only provide cost-effective clean energy and good-paying jobs, but also can do so in harmony with the environment and existing users of the ocean, including commercial and recreational fishermen.

Federal and state law mandate a long list of checks and balances that must be satisfied before we can begin construction. In addition to those requirements, our company holds that it is important to engage, communicate with and listen to key stakeholders, like members of the fishing community, because their input will help us to build a better project and to help establish a better, more sustainable local industry.

Read the full story at The Press of Atlantic City

Dominion planning large wind farm off Virginia coast

September 20, 2019 — Dominion Energy announced plans Thursday to seek approval to build what it says would be the largest offshore wind project in the United States off the Virginia coast.

The company told The Associated Press ahead of a public announcement that the project would include about 220 wind turbines in federal waters it has already leased 27 miles (43 kilometers) off Virginia Beach.

If approved as proposed, Dominion says, the approximately $7.8 billion project could produce more than 2,600 megawatts of energy during peak wind by 2026, enough to power 650,000 homes.

“This is, to us, big news. It’s a big step for us to accomplish our carbon reduction goals,” Mark Mitchell, vice president of generation construction for Richmond-based Dominion, said in an interview.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Fishing concerns color N.J. offshore wind hearing

September 19, 2019 — A House Natural Resources subcommittee field hearing in New Jersey yesterday highlighted the conflict between fisheries and offshore wind development.

The Energy and Mineral Resources panel’s focus was the burgeoning industry’s potential benefit to the state and its crucial role in a warming planet.

“Time is not on our side,” said subcommittee Chairman Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) about the need to promote clean energy to address climate change.

Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who represents Atlantic City and surrounding areas, said he is not opposed to offshore wind but argued that there is a need for greater respect toward people affected by it, particularly fishermen.

Fishing is a growing challenge for wind developers that has checked the sector’s growth in the United States recently. Even though coastal states are investing heavily in wind – with state commitments representing about 20 gigawatts of offshore wind power – the first expected offshore wind farm is on hold until fishing impacts are figured out (Climatewire, Sept. 6).

Van Drew, a conservative Democrat who unseated a Republican incumbent in 2018, said fishing operations large and small have expressed confusion or ignorance about a major project from Danish firm Ørsted A/S. The congressman suggested that the firm has not properly engaged with all sides.

Read the full story at National Wind Watch

Trump move to delay Mass. wind farm concerns NY officials

September 19, 2019 — New York State is “watching closely” the federal government’s decision to stall a Massachusetts offshore wind project to review environmental and fishing impacts, a top state official said Wednesday, adding there’s no sign yet that the scrutiny will affect New York’s ambitious offshore wind plans.

“That concern does exist,” Alicia Barton, president and chief executive of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, told business leaders at a Long Island Association meeting in Melville Wednesday. She called the federal review a “significant setback” in the permitting schedule for that project, called Vineyard Wind.

Vineyard Wind in August said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the federal Bureau of Energy Management’s decision to scrutinize the “cumulative impacts [of offshore wind] driven by rapid growth of the industry beyond our project.”

For now, Barton said she had “no reason to believe” New York projects, which are slated to be in service in 2024, would be affected by the federal review. Nor does it appear to delay her expectation that additional leasing areas off New York will be offered by the federal government soon.

Read the full story at Newsday

Fishermen Voice Concerns During Offshore Wind Hearing

September 18, 2019 — U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd) brought the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources to the Wildwoods Convention Center Sept. 16 to hear the concerns of the fishing industry and other shore activists regarding a proposed wind farm off the South Jersey coast.

Chaired by U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), the pair listened as fishermen and others said they felt left out of the process that could affect the local industry, natural resources, and the economy.

Van Drew emphasized bringing local fishermen to the table when wind farms are in the planning stages.

“I am an advocate of wind energy. I have a windmill on my property. However, the first rule I apply is do no harm to the environment, the ratepayers and the fishing industry. This is the livelihood of a lot of people down here. The fishermen must be consulted,” Van Drew said.

Thirteen witnesses, divided into three panels, were each given five minutes to voice their concerns before being questioned by the subcommittee.

Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald

Federal subcommittee hearing opens lines of communication between offshore energy company and fishers

September 17, 2019 — Typically, a warm, clear September day would mean boats in the water for the dozens of fisheries and anglers in South Jersey.

However, more than 50 members of the commercial and recreational fishing community filled a meeting hall inside the city’s convention center for a congressional subcommittee hearing on the impact offshore wind turbines may have on the area’s billion dollar industry.

The hearing, organized by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-2nd, brought House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chair U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-California, to hear the concerns of the local fishing and tourism industries that may be affected by the state’s first offshore wind energy projects.

Van Drew, who supports wind energy, wanted to create an open dialogue between Danish power company Orsted and the area’s commercial and recreational fishing industries.

Read the full story at The Press of Atlantic City