Category Archives: Offshore

A new website launched this week from a group called Protect US Fishermen, looks at possible environmental and economic impacts of proposed offshore wind farms in the Pacific Ocean.

The informal coalition of more than two dozen organizations features a number of fishing groups, including members such as the Westport and Ilwaco charter boat associations.

Visitors to protectUSfishermen.org can find some details on the proposed wind turbine projects off the coast of Washington and Oregon, as well as learn about the potential impacts to commercial and recreational fishing from those in the industries.

The group looks at providing a look at the debate surrounding offshore wind development and provides an overview from the fishing community.

Heather Mann, executive director of Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and a member of the coalition, said that she is worried that many residents are unaware of the potential harm that offshore development could bring and hopes the website will help raise awareness.

I find it disturbing that the administration and many legislators are either unaware or are simply ignoring the well-documented science about negative impacts to the marine environment from turbine farms, Mann said.

She added that the current offshore wind proposals off the California coast are a direct threat to that ecosystem.

The website is aimed at educating people throughout the West Coast.

The new website is said to be only one part of a campaign about the concerns, and it also features a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, and live events.

Billboards, digital advertising, and print media are part of the coalitions campaign in the coming months.

Individuals who wish to get involved in the effort will find several options listed at protectUSfishermen.org.

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Website looks at offshore wind farms from the viewpoint of fishing industry - KXRO Newsradio

CVOW's trial phase, 2020 (Dominion Energy file image)

PublishedAug 28, 2022 11:16 PM by The Maritime Executive

The giant utility Dominion Energy has found itself in a disagreement with state regulators over a proposed performance guarantee for its $10 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, one of the largest planned wind farms in the U.S. development pipeline. The clause is enough of a concern for Dominion that it has threatened to scuttle CVOW altogether and walk away - a seismic shock for the budding U.S. offshore wind industry.

Dominion has historically been one of the most committed players in the U.S. offshore wind business. It was an early and enthusiastic entrant, beginning its planning for a small pilot project as early as 2012. The pilot stage was completed in 2020 andis one of only two (small) offshore wind farms operating in the U.S. today.

To build the full-scale 2.6 GW facility, Dominion is buying the only U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel on the market, the future Charybdis, at a price of half a billion dollars- a financial commitment that no other developer or shipowner has been willing to match yet. Construction on the vessel is already well under way.

However, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) - a regulator with a broad mandate governing insurance, railroads and utilities - has made a decision that may make CVOW untenable, according to Dominion. The SCC will allow Dominion to bill the cost of CVOW's development to household ratepayers in the form of a miniscule rider fee - but only if its turbines perform at a 42 percent capacity factor or better in any three-year period. Any shortfalls would be Dominion's to cover.

Dominion has appealed the decision, describing it as unprecedented and "unlawful." The firm warns that the guarantee is so broad that it would leave Dominion on the hook for any decline in power output - whether caused by a hurricane, cyberattack, climate change or any other factor.

"The Commissions unprecedented imposition of an involuntary performance guaranteecondition on its approvals, however, is untenable. As ordered, it will prevent the project from moving forward, and the company will be forced to terminate all development and constructionactivities," Dominion wrote in anappeal. "As recognized by the Commission, the project is favored by the General Assemblys support for offshore wind generation as a cornerstone of theCommonwealths plan for a clean and reliable energy future."

The disagreement follows a just few weeks after Dominion celebrated formal approval from the SCC for the project to move forward. The initial order was released August 8, and it noted that there would be some form of performance requirement, but did not give any details - until now.

Dominion's appeal to the SCC begins a rehearing process, and the company sounded an upbeat note in a statement to local TV media.

"We look forward to completing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project as a regulated project to build on our long record of affordability and reliability," a Dominion spokesperson told local media.

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Dominion May End $10B Offshore Wind Project Over Performance Clause - The Maritime Executive

Innvotek and Eleven-I have demonstrated innovative technology solutions, alongside GE Renewable Energy and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, to support future offshore wind developments.

The two companies carried out the work through GE Renewable Energy and ORE Catapults Stay Ashore research and development programme, and the Robotics Challenge sub-project delivered through the Offshore Wind Innovation Hubs Innovation Exchange (OWiX) in partnership with KTN.

Innvotek, a Cambridge-based consultancy, has further developed a robotic crawler that uses magnetic technology to attach itself to a turbine generator and autonomously detect the presence of certain features in order to carry out maintenance work.

Derbyshire-based Eleven-I has used the project to develop its structural health monitoring system which uses software and data analysis to monitor blade health throughout its lifetime.

GE said that the development of robotics is seen as a vital component in the future roll out of offshore wind development in the UK, and according to ORE Catapult research, could cut inspection costs by almost 40 per cent in the years to come.

The Stay Ashore program continues to drive improvements for the offshore wind industry. These innovative solutions aim to improve operational efficiency and safety, said Vincent Schellings, Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind.

This will be vital as the offshore wind industry grows to meet the worlds decarbonization targets. Were proud to base this research in the UK, supporting the UK with its target to reach 50 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030.

In April, ORE Catapult and GE Renewable Energy tested a six-legged robot that the companies say could bring the wind industry over GBP 250 million in savings annually.

The testing showed how BladeBUGs robot can inspect wind turbine bolts autonomously, eliminating the need for technicians to loosen and retighten thousands of bolts per wind turbine as part of routine maintenance.

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UK Duo Demonstrates Offshore Wind Tech Solutions - Offshore WIND

Vineyard Wind has signed contracts with Maine-based Ironhouse and Houston-based EverLine to support the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project at various construction and operation stages.

EverLine, a provider of energy compliance, technical, and security solutions, will deliver complete Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) integration for the 62 wind turbines, a system that will connect the fields offshore and onshore substation, wind turbines, and offices.

The company will also be responsible for procuring equipment, configuring devices, installing and configuring SCADA software, and testing and commissioning all IT and SCADA systems.

Additionally, Ironhouse will provide the commissioning oversight for the onshore substation, wind turbine foundation, inter-array cables, wind turbines, and SCADA system.

The 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1, a 50-50 joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) funds CI II and CI III, is currently under construction off the coast of Massachusetts.

As we build the nations first offshore wind farm, we are proud to engage an ever-increasing amount of the US workforce in each step of the process. Vineyard Wind 1 is only the beginning. With each project, we will take a giant leap forward in building out this new industry, creating thousands of good-paying jobs and reducing the harmful effects of carbon pollution, said Klaus S. Moeller, CEO of Vineyard Wind.

Located 15 miles (approximately 24 kilometres) off the coast of Marthas Vineyard, the project is the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US to achievefinancial closeand, at USD 2.3 billion, represents one of the largest investments in a single renewable energy project in the US.

Vineyard Wind 1will feature62 GE Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines,to be installedby DEME Offshores US arm.

Scheduled to deliver its first power to the grid in 2023, the wind farm will generate enough electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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Two US Companies Join Vineyard Wind 1 Team - Offshore WIND

Offshore staff

VEST-AGDER, NorwayA 32-day tow and 4,200 nautical miles traveled around Australia represented one of Siem Offshore's longest tows in the company's history, Siem announced earlier this week.

"Two of its anchor handlers, Siem Amethyst and Siem Aquamarine, safely managed the long and challenging tow of Ocean Onyx from the Bass Strait Victoria to her temporary home Dampier, Western Australia," Siem stated on its LinkedIn page.

Siem Offshore has been busy offshore this year.

Last week,Siem Offshoresaid itsecured an 18-month extension to a contract offshore Canada for itsAvalon Seaanchor-handler tug supply (AHTS) vessel. TheIce Classvessel will continue operations for the client into second-quarter 2024.

In early August,Siem AHTS Pool AS, a subsidiary of Siem Offshore Inc., announced that Equinor Energy AS in Norway declared a three-month option for theSiem OpalAHTS from September.

In late July,Total E&P do Brazil declared the first of two options for theSiem AtlasandSiem Giantplatform supply vessels. Both vessels are now firm until June 2023.

Also in July, Siem Offshore do Brasil signed a new contract for theSiem Maragogioil spill response vesselfor a duration of three years. Commencement is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year and in direct continuation of the current contract.

08.30.2022

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Siem Offshore announces one of longest tows in its history | Offshore - Offshore magazine

For Immediate Release: Aug 10, 2022

New goals of up to 5,000 MW by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045 will accelerate Californias transition to 100% clean electricity

SACRAMENTO Today the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a report establishing offshore wind goals and moving the state one step closer to development of the clean energy resource off Californias coast. Preliminary findings in the report set planning goals of 2,000-5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045, enough electricity to power 3.75 million initially and 25 million homes by mid-century.

California is home to some of the best offshore wind resources in the country, a power source that can play a major role in helping the state achieve 100 percent clean electricity and carbon neutrality. Offshore wind is a critical clean energy source at night complementing solar energy by providing generation at the end of the day and into the evening as the sun sets.

These ambitious yet achievable goals are an important signal of how committed California is to bringing the offshore wind industry to our state, said CEC Chair David Hochschild. This remarkable resource will generate clean electricity around the clock and help us transition away from fossil fuel-based energy as quickly as possible while ensuring grid reliability.

The CEC developed the report in coordination with federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders including Tribal governments, fisheries and other ocean users. It is the first of several products the CEC must prepare to create a strategic plan for offshore wind energy development as required by Assembly Bill 525. It reflects the latest available research on technical potential.

The success of our states climate goals requires all-hands-on deck and we are committed to ongoing consultation with other agencies and those most impacted by the scale-up needed to achieve 100 percent clean electricity, said CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda.

CEC staff will next study the economic benefits of offshore wind in relation to seaport investments and workforce development needs. Staff will also create a roadmap to develop a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure. The entire plan must be submitted to the Legislature by June 2023.

Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an agreement opening the West Coast for development for the first time. As a result of the partnership, in May, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managementreleased a proposed sale noticefor offshore wind leases off the northern and central coasts in areas designated as most suitable for commercial wind energy activities near Humboldt and Morro Bay.

Plans for renovations to prepare for offshore wind activities are already underway at the Port of Humboldt Bay with $10.5 million in funding approved by the CEC earlier this year. Governor Newsoms202223 budget proposalbuilds on this effort and proposes an additional $45 million for other needed upgrades at waterfront facilities.

To learn more about Californias offshore wind efforts, visit the CECs Offshore Renewable Energy Page.

# # #

About the California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It hasseven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies.

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CEC Adopts Historic California Offshore Wind Goals, Enough to Power Upwards of 25 Million Homes - California Energy Commission

In the Past year, Sebastin, a developer based in Ecuador, has received more LinkedIn messages from recruiters trying to poach him than ever before. One particular message caught his eye: It was from a Miami-based delivery startup. Sebastin, who asked that his last name not be used to avoid jeopardizing his current employment, was excited by the potential growth opportunity.

I would like to know how companies in the United States work, how things are done there, he says. Many other experienced developers outside the US have found themselves in increasingly high demand from American tech companies as the rise of remote work and a US talent shortage have spurred searches for more globalized teams.

A 2022 report from tech services company Commit estimated that offshoring software development roles would increase by 70 percent over the next year. Some companies, like Coinbase and Shopify, have already hired aggressively outside the US to fill open technical roles. Software developers are shaping up to be the first global role, says Alex Bouaziz, the CEO of Deel, a startup that provides payroll and remote hiring services. His company saw a 50 percent increase in its US-based clients hiring abroad in 2022.

In the past, companies accessed a wider pool of talent by strategically building offices in secondary markets. It was mostly like we have an HQ1, then we pick one market and we build HQ2, says Dylan Serota, cofounder of Terminal, a company that connects developers in Latin America, Spain, and Poland with startups in places like the US and UK. Terminal provides the infrastructure to offer benefits and pay local taxes, something many smaller companies dont have the resources to put in place. The rise of remote has encouraged companies to rethink their approach to talent in ways they would not have considered doing before, says Serota.

To help facilitate this process, companies like Terminal and Telescoped vet developers and startups and then provide benefits like health insurance, pay local taxes on behalf of the developers, and ensure the developers receive perks like paid time off and equity. About 80 percent of the developers we work with have equity in the startups they work with, says Serota.

Many new hires are coming from countries like the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, and India. While tech companies have long sought out those markets to cheaply staff call centers, content moderator positions, and IT departments, they are now following talent to fill open roles on any of their teams. We used to think of this as a cost arbitrage storyyou hire in Mexico or India because its cheaper, says Jimit Arora, a partner at the research firm Everest Group. Now I see this as a talent arbitrage story. You go where the talent is.

Latin American talent, in particular, has attracted attention from companies based in the US. The region shares time zones with the US, and seeking out talent in cities like Mexico City or Bogota allows startups to avoid competing for talent in places like San Francisco, says Bouaziz. Its also significantly cheaper: The average monthly salary for a software engineer in Mexico is $3,165, according to Coders Link, a platform that connects Latin American talent with US-based tech companies. Thats about one-fifth the salary of a software engineer in San Francisco. The war in Ukraine, which was a major hub for IT outsourcing, has also accelerated this trend, according to Serota. As workers were forced to flee their homes or fight the Russian invasion, foreign companies have sought new places to offshore their work, and Serota says the demand has shifted rapidly to Latin America, as well as some other markets in Eastern Europe.

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Tech's Offshore Hiring Has Gone Into Overdrive - WIRED

Measurements of methane emissions from shallow wateroiland gas platforms in the U.S.Gulf of Mexico found they were substantially higher than those from drilling on land, according to research published on Thursday.

The study, by researchers at non-profit Carbon Mapper, the University of Arizona, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, is among the first to measure methane leaking from offshore facilities, which account for about 30% of globaloiland gas production but are difficult to study because they are so remote.

The researchers found a methane loss rate, a measure of emissions relative to production, of 23% to 66% from the offshore platforms compared with 3.3% to 3.7% in previousstudies of drilling activity in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, the largest U.S.oilfield.

"What this study does is it highlights that there is something going on here," Alana Ayasse, the study's lead author, said in an interview. "We see a lot of emissions relative to the low production."

Flights, conducted in the spring and autumn in 2021, observed 151 shallow water platforms, about 8% of active shallow water infrastructure. Those facilities tend to be older and lower-producing than deepwater platforms, which Carbon Mapper hopes to take measurements of later this year.

Carbon Mapper measures emissions using aircraft equipped with remote sensing technology. To see emissions over dark water, researchers devised a way to target the sun's reflection to illuminate the areas it was observing.

The studyalso found that the offshoreemissions were more persistentthan those onshore. That means they were detected frequently over multiple flights in 2021.A small number of sources, typically tanks, pipelines and vent booms, were responsible for most of the emissions.

Theoiland gas industry is responsible for about 20% of methane emissions from human activity. Scientists have warned that countries must make rapid reductions in methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, to stave off the worst effects of global warming.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom/Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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Methane Emissions from U.S. Shallow Offshore Platforms Exceed Those on Land, Study Finds - Offshore Engineer

Despite pushback from residents, the Supreme Court of Ohio yesterday approved a permit for the construction of North Americas first freshwater offshore wind farm, which will be cited in Lake Erie, around eight miles north of Cleveland.

Residents of Bratenahl, a village in Ohios Cuyahoga County on the southern shore of Lake Erie, sued to stop the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporations (LEEDCo) Icebreaker Wind, a six-turbine, 20.7-megawatt (MW) offshore wind demonstration project, which will test offshore wind viability in the Great Lakes.

LEEDCo wrote:

Lake Erie is an ideal location for offshore wind, with ample available interconnect capacity, large load centers along the coast, growing energy demand due to existing plant retirements, a strong manufacturing base, and limited other sources of renewable energy.

The Bratenahl residents objected to the project on the basis of it not having enough evidence that it wouldnt harm birds and bats, and that the project would not serve the public interest as defined by Ohio law. They also dont want further wind farms to be installed in Lake Erie.

The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled 6-1 in favor of Icebreaker Wind. It stated that the Ohio Power Siting Board provided multiple studies that demonstrated a low impact on birds and bats, and that the wind farm would have minimal impact on the publics enjoyment of Lake Erie.

Justice Jennifer Brunner wrote on page 13:

Rather than requiring Icebreaker to resolve those matters before issuing the certificate, the board determined that the conditions on its grant of the certificate were sufficient to protect birds and bats and to ensure that the facility represented the minimum adverse environmental impact.

Icebreaker Wind will interconnect with the Cleveland Public Power transmission system at the Lake Road 138kV substation.

LEEDCo asserts that the Great Lakes hold enough energy potential to power the entire country. The winds of Lake Erie alone could meet over 10% of our electricity needs by 2030.

Read more: Biden to expand offshore wind power in the Gulf of Mexico

Photo: LEEDCo Simulation

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The first North American freshwater offshore wind farm will be in Lake Erie - Electrek.co

The Democrats climate bill would erase former President Donald Trumps 10-year moratorium on offshore wind in the U.S. Southeast, but few experts are betting on a regionwide surge in projects.

Signed by Trump in 2020, the moratorium banned new leasing for all types of energy off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It went into effect last month (Energywire, Sept. 29, 2020).

The Inflation Reduction Act which the Senate passed over the weekend and is expected to be taken up by the House soon would strip away the ban on offshore wind lease sales, while leaving it in place for oil and gas drilling.

But wind power has not generally experienced warm welcomes in the Southeast. Just one onshore wind farm the Avangrid-owned Amazon Wind Farm near Elizabeth City, N.C.currently generates electrons across the four moratorium states. Interest in offshore wind also has been mixed.

Lifting the moratorium may not transform that reality, even if Democrats climate bill becomes law, some clean energy advocates and environmentalists acknowledge.

In places such as Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, state officials largely havent enacted measures to promote offshore wind. This is in stark contrast to the state guarantees to buy offshore wind power that were crucial to the industrys emergence in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic.

North Carolina stands out as the regions clear exception, taking concrete steps to embrace the industry. One of its major utilities, Duke Energy, won the right to generate power from federal lease areas for offshore wind in May, as did French oil and gas major TotalEnergies SE. The states Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, also has laid out specific targets for the sector: 2.8 gigawatts by 2030, and 8 gigawatts a decade later.

Across other states, however, little groundwork has been done to establish offshore winds foothold as a future resource. And it remains unclear if, or how quickly, official indifference might transform into boosterism.

In South Carolina, for instance, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed a law calling for a first study of how offshore winds need for locally made parts and staging ports could benefit the state economically.

That could help convince South Carolinians that their state is well positioned to host the industry, said Hailey Deres, program associate at the Southeastern Wind Coalition.

Still, Deres added, I dont think that there is going to be any immediate push for an offshore wind project even if the moratorium is lifted.

Action on offshore wind is probably farthest off in Georgia, where initial explorations from Georgia Power a decade ago havent led to firm commitments, and Florida, where the federal government has yet to begin preliminary offshore wind scoping that would allow for commercial development.

The Southeastern states also face a physical disadvantage in their wind conditions, at least compared with blustery waters like those off Massachusetts.

Generally speaking, Southern states have lower wind speeds on land and at sea so the potential is lower than the Northern states, said Walt Musial, offshore wind research lead at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

That might make developers less willing to attempt projects, although Musial noted that wind conditions are still considered economic for power generation in many areas.

Still, many offshore wind advocates are optimistic about ending the moratorium.

The Southeast has historically not been viewed as the best place for wind energy development, but ending Trumps moratorium would give states a chance to change that, as North Carolina has already begun to do, saidChris Carnevale, climate advocacy director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Offshore wind could also complement solar a focus of many Southern utilities development by generating power at times when sunlight grows weaker, allowing for a higher concentration of renewables on the grid, he said.

It would be a very positive thing for our region if the moratorium is lifted, said Carnevale.

Offshore winds future in the Southeast might depend on a handful of factors different from those governing its rise in the Northeast.

First is the central role of utilities and state regulators.

Where climate commitments from Democratic governors and legislators along with independent developers drove growth in New England, large utilities like Duke Energy, Dominion Energy, Georgia Power and NextEra will determine much of what happens in the southern Atlantic, said South Carolina-based Aaron Barr, global head of onshore wind research for Wood Mackenzie.

Its really hard to build anything, particularly these massive offshore wind projects, without some involvement from the regulated utilities in all of these states, Barr said. The pathway for offshore wind in the Southeast is really through these regulated utilities.

The moratorium removal is one of several dominoes falling in the Southeast to get the offshore wind industry and its supply chain moving, he said.

Now that this moratorium may be going away, it really opens up a lot of doors, he said.

The cost of offshore wind power may also be more of a consideration in the region than in the Northeast, where governors were often eager to profile themselves as climate leaders. Transmission costs to bring the electricity generated offshore to population centers inland can push up price tags.

Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia said falling costs as the industry matures might demonstrate the case for offshore wind to officials in Georgia, although her state shouldnt wait for that proof, she argued.

As turbines multiply across the East Coast, I expect well see costs come down significantly, said Gayer. Were on pace to install a lot of offshore wind over the next couple of years. We should be doing that right now in the state of Georgia.

Another special consideration for the Southeast especially for Florida may be vulnerability to hurricanes.

But that may be a challenge that diminishes over time. Technology is developing to deploy typhoon class turbines with larger rotors that can withstand hurricane-force winds, said Musial of NREL. Those are also likely needed for the western and central Gulf of Mexico, where the Biden administration is planning its first lease sales next year, he said.

Floridas offshore wind outlook may be limited by other unique pressures, like its huge tourism industry, sensitive environmental and wildlife implications, shipping lanes and fishing impacts, said Barr of Wood Mackenzie.

Put together, those issues mean Florida may be a challenging offshore wind market, he said. Yet it has extensive coastlines to offer, and its two largest utilities both have strong wind credentials: Duke, which is leading offshore wind in North Carolina, and NextEra, the largest onshore wind producer in the country.

None of the complications in Florida would entirely rule out offshore wind there, particularly with the Biden administrations push for offshore wind.

I havent seen the same momentum for [the Interior Department] to create an offshore lease area off the coast of Florida as I have in the Carolinas, Barr said. But, you know, this moratorium is over. That could easily happen.

In North Carolina, the offshore wind outlook has been picking up steam, and some argue that the removal of the moratorium will only accelerate that.

Thats mostly due to Dukes activity. The utility has long been the bellwether determining whether offshore wind could take off, and its recent commitment to the sector when it secured the highest bid for a lease off the states coast earlier this year was seen by wind advocates as a turning point for the state. Thats in addition to the passage of a law last year mandating North Carolina utilities cut emissions by 70 percent by the end of the decade, which offshore wind could help secure.

North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat who led the push to remove the moratorium, said the ban had represented a threat to reaching those state targets.

It would just be leaving a utility-scale resource, you know, off the table as were going through this energy transition, she said. Thats the real reason for offshore wind is because its utility scale.

Ironically, the Trump-era moratorium may have helped offshore wind reach this pivotal moment in North Carolina.

A few months before it went into effect, theBiden administration added two new lease areas to the North Carolina wind footprint, with a combined capacity to power 500,000 homes (Energywire, May 12).

That came partly at the behest of Cooper, North Carolinas governor, who wrote in March to the Interior Departments Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging it to finish work on the lease areas before the ban kicked in. Members of the states delegation made similar pleas.

We saw the lease sale make it over the finish line because of the moratorium. If anything, it mightve hastened that, said Carnevale of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

The lease sale also introduced a new player into North Carolinas offshore wind space to drive investment: France-based TotalEnergies, which won one of the two leases.

TotalEnergies is one of the largest oil companies in the world and is experienced in offshore energy development. But importantly for North Carolina, its also eagerly diversifying its portfolio to offset its carbon emissions on a quest to reach 100 gigawatts of renewable power by 2030.

Ross said removing the moratorium would mean a chance to scale up, allowing the southern Atlantic states to compete for a slice of the U.S. offshore wind supply chain thats going to be needed in the coming years, from construction experts to build the first fleet of offshore wind farms to companies to service them once they are in action. There also will be the manufacturers that make the thousands of turbines blades, towers, foundations and nacelles needed to create this industry in the United States.

Its a shame, because the moratorium was unnecessary, Ross said. It really delayed things. But, you know, were getting it fixed pretty darn quick.

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How the climate bill would shift offshore wind in 4 states - E&E News