South Fork Wind has shipped the first offshore wind turbine from the Port of New London, Connecticut, to the project’s offshore site, marking the start of the final construction phase for this historic, New York offshore wind farm. The first of South Fork Wind’s 12 Siemens Gamesa wind turbine generators – pre-assembled tower sections; a…
Ørsted scraps plan for two multigigawatt offshore wind farms near New Jersey
Following a decision by its Board of Directors, Ørsted announced it will cease development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects off the coast of New Jersey. “Macroeconomic factors have changed dramatically over a short period of time, with high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks impacting our long-term capital…
2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project given greenlight by Biden Administration
The Biden-Harris administration has approved the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project – the fifth approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project under President Biden’s leadership. Located approximately 23.5 nautical miles offshore Virginia Beach, the CVOW commercial project is the largest yet, and would provide about 2,600 MW of clean, reliable offshore wind…
New York invests in 4 GW of additional offshore wind projects
New York State plans to invest in renewable energy projects across the state and off its shores, resulting in 6.4 GW of clean energy, enough to power 2.6 million New York homes, create 8,300 jobs and deliver approximately 12% of the state’s electricity needs. This renewable energy investment is set to be the largest made…
Cabling completed on Vineyard Wind 1 offshore project
Prysmian Group, an energy and telecom cable systems company, successfully completed the installation and HV testing activities at Vineyard Wind 1, the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in the United States. Located more than 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, Vineyard Wind consists of an array of 62 wind turbines that will generate 800…
Balmoral launches innovative HexDefence for jacket foundations
Balmoral has launched its HexDefence product designed for jacket foundations, a globally patented product designed to significantly mitigate jacket foundation scouring around fixed wind turbines. This solution not only marks a leap forward in offshore wind technology but also promises substantial cost savings and environmental benefits. Building upon the success of the HexDefence development work…
Xcel Energy seeking 1.2 GW of wind projects to replace Minnesota coal plant
Xcel Energy is issuing one of Minnesota’s largest-ever calls for clean energy projects, accelerating the addition of carbon-free energy for the company’s Upper Midwest customers while helping to replace a coal-fired power plant in central Minnesota. The company is asking developers to submit proposals for approximately 1.2 GW of new wind projects, enough to power…
Vineyard Wind offshore project installs first wind turbine
Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have announced that that the Vineyard Wind 1 project completed the successful installation of the first GE Haliade-X wind turbine for the offshore project. The completed turbine is comprised of one tower, three blades and one nacelle, and the fully assembled machine represents the largest turbine in the western…
New report from ONYX shows majority of wind operators are concerned about reliability
A new report by ONYX Insight reveals that supply chain issues, OEM pressures and turbine reliability are the greatest challenges facing the wind industry, with digital adoption key to making meaningful improvements. ONYX’s new “Ever-Changing Winds” report includes a global survey of wind turbine owner/operators summarizing the current challenges, trends and opportunities facing senior leaders in the wind industry as it continues its growth. Reliability,…
Engineering the energy transition: The challenges of offshore wind
Decarbonizing the global energy supply requires a renewable energy mix to replace more traditional power generation. Offshore wind is a key component of this energy transition. This article discusses the engineering challenges associated with offshore wind development and explains the role that flow control equipment can play in improving operations on wind turbine installation vessels…
Stantec to serve as environmental consultant on Community Offshore Wind Project
Stantec has been selected to serve as the primary environmental consultant for the Community Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture between RWE and National Grid Ventures off the coast of New York and New Jersey. Stantec has extensive capabilities and experience in renewable energy and offshore wind projects. The firm’s work with Community Offshore Wind…
Three questions with the New Jersey Wind Port
The New Jersey Wind Port, currently under construction, is slated to be the nation’s first purpose-built offshore wind marshalling and manufacturing port, an important milestone for offshore wind development in the United States. The port broke ground in 2021, and its first phase is on track for completion in April 2024. Subsequent phases will be…
DOE sets aside $72 million to advance wind energy technology developments
The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently announced $72 million for three sets of projects that will innovate manufacturing processes for wind and water technologies and accelerate the equitable and sustainable deployment of offshore and land-based wind energy. This funding includes $27 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 15 projects to support research, development, and…
Global wind power cumulative installed capacity to hit 2.38 TW in 2032
Increased activity in Western markets and Africa will drive a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 10.1% for grid-connected wind power, leading to 2.38 terawatts (TW) of cumulative installed capacity at the end of 2032, according to Wood Mackenzie. According to Wood Mackenzie’s “Global wind power market outlook update: Q3 2023” report, this long-term growth…
September 2023 Issue: Sitting offshore turbines in risky U.S. waters
Windpower Engineering & Development is a growing wind-power resource targeting professionals involved in all aspects of a wind farm’s lifecycle, including developers, engineers, technicians, manufacturers and researchers that work to site, build, maintain, repair and optimize wind-related components, software and projects. The goal at Windpower Engineering & Development is to educate and expand the knowledge…
WoodMac: 49% of wind turbines ordered in North America in H1 were for offshore projects
Global wind turbine order intake reached new highs in the first half of 2023, with 69.5 GW of activity, a 12% increase year-over-year, according to a new analysis from Wood Mackenzie. A big driver of this activity was orders from outside China, which saw more than 25 GW of order demand for a 47% increase…
Navigating challenges and charting growth for the U.S. offshore wind market
As the United States’ energy transition rides the high of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Vineyard Wind 1 project, set to be the first gigawatt-scale offshore wind farm, marks the beginning of a new era for renewable energy in the country. With a 15-GW pipeline of numerous other projects in pre-construction and procurement stages, including…
Federal government gives go-ahead to 704-MW Revolution Wind offshore project
The Dept. of the Interior has announced its approval of the Revolution Wind project. Located about 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, the project will have an estimated capacity of 704 MW of clean energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes. The project is expected to create an estimated 1,200 local jobs…
Floating offshore wind power could be the key to reaching decarbonization targets
The energy transition is driving the development of offshore wind power around the world to provide communities with reliable clean power and prevent harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from being released into the atmosphere. In the United States, the development of offshore wind projects is more advanced on the East Coast due to the shallower…
Navigating risks in the U.S. offshore wind industry: Insights into insurance and extreme weather challenges
In 2023, the offshore wind insurance market will support over 5 GW of offshore wind construction along the U.S. East Coast. Considering the existing development pipeline in the United States, this number is expected to grow to approximately 50 GW within 10 years. While considered an emerging sector in North America by many, the reality…