Category Archives: Offshore

But towing the prototype to site and hooking it up will have to wait for a suitable weather window, probably after mid-September when strong trade winds in the Canary Islands subside.

The company installed gravity-based foundations comprising three reinforced concrete blocks in December last year. It mounted the nacelle on the PivotBuoy structure in October 2021, using a Vestas V29 225kW turbine originally designed for fixed foundations, which has been retrofitted using a full-converter supplied by ABB.

The PivotBuoy design is one of three technologies aiming to demonstrate up to 300MW of precommercial offshore solutions at test sites around Gran Canaria by 2025under the Plocan initiative.

Adrian Oliva, X1 Winds electrical engineering manager, said installing the 1.4km 20kV cable will allow us to fully validate the floater and wind turbine performance, feeding the electricity to Plocans smartgrid, as well as transmitting data through its fibre optic connection. Also, we will be able to validate the cables dynamic behaviour.

X1 Wind claims its PivotBuoy system is lighter than other spar and semi-submersible offshore platforms and towers and is designed for future mass production at a low cost. Fitting the turbine in a downwind configuration enables the structure to orientate passively and maximise energy yield. The single-point swivelling mooring system is connected to the foundations by vertical tensioned tendons that reduce the platform and cable dynamic motions, facilitating maintenance and minimising fatigue in the power cable.

PivotBuoy won a 4 million grant from the EUs Horizon programme in March 2019 and a 2.5m accelerator grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) in June 2021 to develop the design and certify the platform.

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Video: X1 Wind poised to install prototype offshore wind floater 'as soon as weather allows' - Windpower Monthly

The Inflation Reduction Act spending bill, reflecting compromise between Senator Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, contains several measures to bolster offshore wind and other renewable energy development in the United States. If passed, the bill would allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to help facilitate a clean energy transition, primarily through clean energy tax credits, as we discuss here. Several provisions related to offshore wind and related transmission infrastructure stand out, and the incentives they provide may succeed in spurring necessary infrastructure development, though some constraints remain.

The spending bill earmarks $2 billion in loans to support new and upgraded electric transmission facilities, and another $760 million in grants to siting authorities to assist high voltage interstate projects and offshore electricity transmission projects in navigating the review and approval processes. This funding reflects a key reality: the clean energy transition is not just a shift in the type of energy source used (e.g., fossil fuels to renewables like wind and solar), but also a shift in where electric generation occurs. The electric grid needs new large-scale transmission lines to deliver power generated at onshore and offshore wind and other renewable generation facilities, and siting these lines can be a challenge. For example, we have previously discussed the limited siting and interconnection options necessary to deliver offshore wind power, as well as the gap in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions backstop siting authority in overcoming a state or siting authoritys rejection of a transmission project, since that authority withholds the power of eminent domain for state-owned land.

The new spending bill does not solve the backstop siting authority problem, but it does offer financial incentives to address the problem. First, it offers grants to siting authorities to fund studies and analyses of proposed transmission projects, negotiations with project proponents and opponents, and other measures and actions that may improve the chances of, and shorten the time required for, approval. (Sec. 50152). The bill incentivizes faster approvals, as receipt of grant funds requires the siting authority to agree to make a final siting decision within two years of grant funding. It also incentivizes approvals by allowing economic development money to flow to siting authorities and state, local, or tribal governments that approve projects, in order to address communities that may be affected by a transmission projects construction and operation.

The spending bill also includes an additional $100 million specifically allocated to address planning and modeling for interregional and offshore wind electricity transmission projects. Funded activities include studying cost allocation methodologies that facilitate expansion of the bulk power system, power flow modeling, evaluating existing rights-of-way and the need for additional transmission corridors, and planning for a national transmission grid to optimize the grid for interconnection to offshore wind farms.

The spending bill would open additional areas to offshore leasing in two main ways. First, it would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to extend the acts coverage to federal offshore waters within the exclusive economic zone of U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. For several years, members of Congress have introduced bills to bring offshore wind development to these areas. This bill would require the government to issue calls for information and nominations for proposed wind lease sales in waters offshore of U.S. territories by September 30, 2025.

Second, the spending bill would override the Trump-era moratorium that currently prohibits federal leasing on the outer continental shelf off the Southeast United States coast. The ten-year moratorium took effect on July 1, 2022, but despite the Biden administrations desire to revoke or sidestep that moratorium to advance clean energy development in that area, revocation requires legislative action. (The Trump administration faced this same barrier in trying to undo an Obama-era withdrawal of unleased federal lands off the coast of Alaska, where a federal court in League of Conservation Voters v. Trump found that the President lacks authority to reinstate previously withdrawn lease areas.)

However, a potential hurdle for both of these changes remains since the spending bill is being advanced through the reconciliation process. That process allows fast-tracked tax and spending bills to have House and Senate differences reconciled before being forwarded to the President for approval. The Senates Byrd Rule prevents legislators from using the reconciliation process to include extraneous provisions unrelated to tax and spending matters. If a senator objects to an extraneous provision, the Senate Parliamentarian reviews and may strike offending provisions, which then cannot be re-added by amendment. The spending bills provisions expanding OCSLAs coverage area and overriding the leasing moratorium could potentially be challenged, as they make no mention of the budgetary impact of reinstating the lease areas, contain no tax provisions, and do not discuss government spending.

The spending bills attempt to override the Southeast area moratorium is not alone. Separately, an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023 would similarly override the Trump-era withdrawal. It would also clarify that presidential withdrawals of leasing areas are presumed to only apply only to oil, gas, and sulphur leases unless explicitly written to apply to other leasing. The impetus behind that provision is to avoid general and broad language like that Trump used in issuing the moratorium from applying to renewable energy projects, and to force specificity in such withdrawals.

The spending bills expansion of wind and solar opportunities on federal land and in federal waters comes with a catch: the government would only be able to grant these new leases and rights-of-way if the governments oil and gas leasing meets certain metrics. For offshore wind, the government could only issue a lease if, during the prior year, the government offered at least 60 million acres in oil and gas lease sales. To put that volume in perspective, a recent oil and gas lease sale (the November 2021 auction for Lease Sale No. 257) offered approximately 81 million acres for oil and gas leasing, with only 1.7 million acres receiving bids. At present, only about 12 million acres out of over two billion acres on the outer continental shelf have current oil and gas leases. This provision and a sister provision applying to onshore oil and gas leasing have already drawn fierce opposition, but reflect a compromise between renewable energy development and measures to support energy security and reliability, and presumably were necessary to obtain Sen. Manchins support.

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What the Inflation Reduction Act Would Do, and Not Do, to Support Continued Offshore Wind Development - JD Supra

Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa has reported a loss of EUR 343 million pre PPA and before integration and restructuring costs recorded in the third quarter of the Fiscal Year 2022.

The company reported revenue of EUR 2.436 billion in the three months up to 30 June, a ten per cent decrease year-on-year.

The reported net income attributable to Siemens Gamesa equity holders amounted to EUR 446 million between April and June 2022.

In the first nine months of fiscal year 2022, the companys revenue amounted to EUR 6.442 billion, a 12 per cent decrease year-over-year. The loss pre PPA and before integration and restructuring costs for the period stood at EUR 957 million, with an EBIT margin of -14.8 per cent.

The reported net income attributable to Siemens Gamesa shareholders in the first nine months of fiscal year 2022 amounted to -EUR 1.226 billion.

The turbine manufacturer said that its performance continued to be negatively affected by volatile market dynamics such as the inflation of energy, raw material and logistics costs, non-availability of key wind turbine components, port congestion, and supply delays.

All these factors impacted manufacturing, project execution, and delivery, the company said.

There were also internal challenges, including a difficult ramp-up of the Siemens Gamesa 5.X onshore platform and higher costs driven mainly by failure of components and repairs in legacy onshore platforms.

Consequently, the company has adjusted its target for EBIT margin pre-PPA and before integration and restructuring costs for FY 2022 to -5.5 per cent after previously announcing -4 per cent.

The company maintains its expectation that it will achieve revenue growth in line with the lower end of the previous range of -2 per cent to -9 per cent.

Record Backlog, Strong Offshore Order Intake

In an extremely challenging situation, the strong momentum in renewables boosted the companys backlog to a record EUR 33.98 billion, Siemens Gamesa said.

Siemens Gamesas order intake from April to June amounted to EUR 3.523 billion, EUR 2.094 billion of which was in Offshore, a 14.3-fold increase year-over-year. Order intake during this quarter was 2.3 times the figure registered in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.

Mistral Strategy Program

In response to this situation, Siemens Gamesa said it is taking decisive steps for long-term value creation under the recently launched Mistral strategy program, which aims to overhaul the current operating model, making the organization simpler and leaner. The strategy is also expected to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

The company will maintain a business-focused setup while strengthening the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) teams to accelerate harmonization and standardization across Siemens Gamesa. Businesses will focus on sales, projects and product roadmap, and keep full P&L responsibility.

Details of the new operating model will be finalized by 1 October, Siemens Gamesa said.

Under the new structure, which will go into effect on 1 January 2023, Siemens Gamesa will create a single technology roadmap across the businesses, making cross-company platform solutions scalable and reducing non-conformance costs (NCCs) through harmonized processes and by focusing on key competencies across Siemens Gamesa.

Now is the time to take decisive action and sustainably shape our future. Under our new operating model, we will be able to support our customers faster and with greater expertise, said Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt.

By setting up simpler processes, we will empower our people, teams and organizations to take responsibility and enable faster learning cycles. As for investors, Eickholt emphasized that, The new setup will accelerate our companys turnaround. It will provide a very clear picture of business activities and greater transparency overall regarding the trajectory that Siemens Gamesa will take as a global leader in the green energy transition.

In the new operating model, the COO will be responsible for manufacturing across the entire Siemens Gamesa portfolio. In addition, all supply-chain- and production-related activities globally will be combined under the COOs scope, enabling production standardization with the support of a qualified supplier network. The new setup is expected to unlock significant value and enable a transition to mid- to long-term procurement contracts of direct materials. Overall, the strategy is expected to ensure competitive high-quality products across businesses and provide greater transparency for the capital market.

Additionally, there will be a single technology development team spanning Offshore, Onshore, and Service, led by the newly created CTO position, summarizing all product-development-related activities globally. Integrating the teams under a global function at the corporate level is a prerequisite to accelerating the harmonization and standardization of technologies across the company, providing overall stability to the development process and product quality, Siemens Gamesa said. The new CTO will be announced in due time.

Three-Phased Approach

The Mistral strategy program will be deployed in three phases, spanning short-term to long-term timelines, from 2022 to 2025 and beyond.

The immediate goals are to achieve product maturity in the Siemens Gamesa 5.X onshore platform coupled with cost assurance.

In the medium term, the team will achieve a lean structure in all target markets, while improving competitiveness and profitability, and growing the top line.

By 2025, Siemens Gamesa aims to have streamlined its platform strategy and achieved a scalable, cross-application operating model for Offshore, Onshore, and Service combined with a highly commoditized supply chain that is robust against market disruptions.

Under the new operating model, Siemens Gamesa is preparing to reap significant cost synergies through the potential integration into Siemens Energy, the company said.

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Siemens Gamesa Sinks Further Into Red, Takes Action to Stabilize Business - Offshore WIND

Two wind measurement devices, called floating LiDARs, have been retrieved and inspected after two and a half years of collecting wind data at the proposed Star of the South offshore wind project site in Australia, with the ground investigations wrapping up as well along the projects proposed transmission route.

The wind data collected by the two floating LiDARs confirmed that the proposed project area experiences strong and consistent winds and is a suitable location for generating electricity from the wind, according to Star of the South.

The LiDARs, deployed back in 2019, were assessed by the projects marine specialists to see what had grown on the buoys during their time on the water. This provides extra data for the team to understand the local marine environment, Star of the South said.

Star of the South procured LiDAR wind and wave monitoring buoys from France-based Akrocean in 2019, while TEK-Ocean was responsible for the installation, maintenance work, and retrieval of the LiDARs.

Meanwhile, the ground investigations along the projects proposed transmission route have been completed as well.

Since April, engineering consultants Douglas Partners collected more than 1,100 soil samples from more than 150 sites with the support of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation which advised on cultural heritage, and Kiernan Plant Hire which supplied excavators and haulage equipment.

Laboratory testing of the samples is ongoing while the findings will assist in designing the projects underground transmission system.

Located off Gippslands south coast in the Bass Strait, the Star of the South offshore wind farm is planned to have up to 200 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 2.2 GW.

If it proceeds to construction, the wind farm would be able to power up to 1.2 million Victorian homes with clean energy, meeting up to 20 per cent of the Australian states electricity needs.

At the beginning of March, the Victorian Government announced a plan to build up to 9 GW of offshore wind by 2040 and to have the first offshore wind-generated electricity flow in 2028.

Star of the South, the first and most progressed offshore wind project in Victoria, is being developed to deliver clean energy to the grid by 2028.

Along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Cbus, the project is also owned by Australian Founders Terry Kallis, Andy Evans and Peter Sgardelis.

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Onshore and Offshore Surveys Wrap Up at Australia's First Offshore Wind Farm - Offshore WIND

The proportion of offshore oil and gas industry operations and technologies companies hiring for data analytics-related positions rose in July 2022 compared with the equivalent month last year, with 72.2% of the companies included in our analysis recruiting for at least one such position.

This latest figure was higher than the 65.1% of companies that were hiring for data analytics-related jobs a year ago and an increase compared to the figure of 69.4% in June 2022.

When it came to the rate of all job openings that were linked to data analytics, related job postings dropped in July 2022 from June 2022, with 7.9% of newly posted job advertisements being linked to the topic.

This latest figure was an increase compared to the 6.7% of newly advertised jobs that were linked to data analytics in the equivalent month a year ago.

Data analytics is one of the topics that GlobalData, from which our data for this article is taken, has identified as being a key disruptive force facing companies in the coming years. Companies that excel and invest in these areas now are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

Our analysis of the data shows that offshore oil and gas industry operations and technologies companies are currently hiring for data analytics jobs at a rate higher than the average for all companies within GlobalData's job analytics database. The average among all companies stood at 5.8% in July 2022.

GlobalData's job analytics database tracks the daily hiring patterns of thousands of companies across the world, drawing in jobs as they're posted and tagging them with additional layers of data on everything from the seniority of each position to whether a job is linked to wider industry trends.

You can keep track of the latest data from this database as it emerges by visiting our live dashboard here.

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Valves, Piping Systems and Connectors for the Offshore, LDPE/EVA and UREA Industry

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Data analytics hiring levels in the offshore industry rose in July 2022 - Offshore Technology

Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG), founded in Dublin in 2011, is furthering their global expansion with a new venture into the Japanese market to support them in achieving the ambitious offshore wind targets set out by the Japanese Government in the Basic Energy Plan.

The development of offshore wind farms in Japan brings some unique challenges, such as earthquakes, typhoons and unusual geological formation. In this new collaboration, GDG will combine their unique expertise in offshore engineering and geoscience with the local Japanese knowledge of Geo Marine Service Co., Ltd and Nikken Sekkei Ltd, to offer unparalleled survey specification, wind turbine foundation design and certification process support to the Japanese market.

Speaking at the recent signing of a Memorandums Of Understanding (MOU) between the partners, Paul Doherty, Founder of GDG and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Venterra Group, said "The GDG team are experts at finding innovative engineering solutions to support some of the most challenging offshore wind projects around the world and we look forward to building on our current base of foundation design projects in Japan. We're delighted to partner with Japanese organisations who hold invaluable local knowledge of the marine regulatory regime, grid and development procedures. Together, we are committed to supporting projects that contribute to the global sustainability agenda."

To date, GDG has supported 35,000MW of offshore wind globally, that's enough energy to power approximately 25 million homes. They are leaders in geotechnical engineering design and have already expanded to the UK, EU and the US. They will bring their unique capabilities to their latest target, Japan.

The Basic Energy Plan, issued by the Japanese Government, has set a target of 45,000MW of offshore wind by 2040 and will go some way to helping Japan achieve its decarbonisation targets, as well as the growing need to reduce energy costs for consumers. However, the Japanese service supply chain required to make this happen has not been sufficiently established.

Ken Yoshizumi, Representative Director, Geo Marine Service Co., Ltd, explains, "Our aim is to offer solutions for these challenges through combining our extensive experience in onshore wind with GDG and Nikken Sekkei Ltd, who can introduce the latest international technologies and knowhow. We are fully committed to supporting the needs of the Japanese market through competitive foundation design work, which is of major importance in the development of offshore wind farms."

ENDS

About Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions

About Geo Marine Services Co Ltd

About Nikken Sekkei

Source and top image: Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions

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GDG to Make Waves in the Japanese Offshore Wind Market - Off Grid Energy Independence

A huge new offshore wind farm could power over a third of Welsh homes with renewable energy, those behind the project have claimed.

The wind farm, which is still in its planning phase but is set to include up to 50 turbines, could supply energy to around 500,000 of the countrys 1.38 million households.

If built, Awel y Mor could help tackle climate change and minimise the UKs reliance on imported energy, German-owned energy company RWE Renewables has said.

It could also cut energy costs and help the Welsh Government reach their 70% renewable energy target by 2030.

But critics of the scheme say the turbines, which would stand just over 10km off the north Wales coast, would harm marine life and affect tourism by spoiling the views from Snowdonia, other beauty spots and conservation areas.

Speaking to PA news agency from Gwynt y Mor wind farm, located in the Irish Sea, Tamsyn Rowe, RWE project lead, said: Awel y Mor would be a fantastic opportunity for Wales. It would bring significant benefits in terms of helping the Welsh Government meet their renewable energy targets of 70% by 2030.

Tamsyn Rowe at RWEs Gwynt y Mor, one of the worlds largest offshore wind farms located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay, off the coast of North Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

(PA Wire)

It would also bring lots of skills and supply chain opportunities and jobs to the region.

If its approved, as the project is in an early stage at the moment, it could power up to 500,000 homes with green, clean, renewable energy.

Climate change is real, its happening now and we do need to be acting urgently, she added.

Projects like Awel y Mor could help us de-carbonise society and protect it for future generations.

They also have the benefit of helping the UKs security of supply, which is a really important issue at the moment, and help us reduce our reliance on imports whilst also reducing the cost of energy to the consumer.

Awel y Mor would be situated to the west of the existing Gwynt y Mor wind farm and create 1100MW of energy with its grid connection planned to reach the shoreline between Rhyl and Prestatyn.

Ms Rowe said the company had spent three years preparing surveys on sea bed ecology, and on the bird population due to the proposed turbines being larger and having a maximum tip height of 332m.

RWE reduced the number of turbines to address concerns over the visual landscape raised during a public consultation last autumn.

In May, the proposals were accepted for consideration by the UK Planning Inspectorate.

Members of the public will be able to submit their thoughts on the project to the planning body from next month.

The final decision on consent will rest with the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with a decision anticipated in 2023.

The project lies in Welsh waters and therefore a Marine Licence must also be granted by the Welsh Government through Natural Resources Wales whose consultation ends on August 18.

Awel y Mor could help tackle climate change but proposals for larger turbines have led to concerns it will harm the view from Welsh beauty spots (Ben Birchall/PA)

(PA Wire)

If permission was granted, Awel y Mor and Gwynt y Mor combined would have the capacity to power the equivalent of more than one million Welsh homes.

RWE is already the largest provider of renewable energy in Wales and it is now looking at building floating wind farms off the south coast of Wales.

Ms Rowe said: Floating wind opens up whole new geographical areas around the coastline of the United Kingdom and Wales where we can deploy turbines in deeper water.

The Crown Estate has recently announced a leasing round for around four gigawatts of floating turbines in the Celtic Sea, so off the south coast of Wales.

RWE are seeking to develop at least one gigawatt of commercial scale floating in that area.

RWE has already began working with ports in South Wales to help them get ready for the floating turbine industry.

Last month the company struck up a partnership with Tata Steel to explore how components for the high-tech floating wind turbines might be produced by the Port Talbot steelworks.

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Huge new offshore wind farm could power a third of Welsh homes - The Independent

Just as oil and gas has borne decades of partnerships between the UK and Norway, Britains ambassador wants to see similar team-ups as offshore wind booms.

Richard Wood has been the UKs top diplomat to our North Sea neighbors since 2018 seeing first-hand the fruitful collaboration between Aberdeen and Stavanger; a relationship he describes as basically symbiotic in the energy world.

Now, just the as the UK has unveiled sizeable offshore wind ambitions, Norway has announced similar plans to develop 30GW by 2040.

We see exactly the same opportunities for companies on both sides of the North Sea to work together and develop capability on both sides of the continental divide, says Wood.

There are a lot of big investments from Norwegian companies in the UK, offshore wind opportunities and a couple of Norwegian winners in the recent ScotWind round, but perhaps more so even in England so far.

And similarly, Id like to see British and Norwegian companies teaming up in consortium for the Norwegian build up as well.

Because a lot of those skills built up in oil and gas are clearly transferable, alongside directly transferable technologies in many ways from oil and gas to offshore wind.

Unlike the UK, which has had a strong sense of energy security issues historically, emphasised by recent events in Ukraine and the gas price crisis, security of supply is a relatively nascent issue in Norway.

The country has always been safe in the knowledge that its impressive hydroelectric industry will cater to its needs.

However an ambitious electrication programme for industry means that demand for electricity is almost going to double by 2050.

Therefore they do need, for the first time, to start looking at a different sources of power, Wood reports.

I think that the recent announcement on offshore windthe timing of that is probably not coincidental and there is a need to start getting that on the road.

Were also trying to raise the issue of electricity interconnection as another means of ensuring security of supply and a kind of efficient and effective use of resources in the North Sea.

These are issues which have risen up the debate pretty rapidly in Norway and all part of a wide partnership agreement signed by the two countries Prime Ministers on May 13.

In keeping with the theme of Trust at ONS 2022, delivering on the energy transition requires governments to describe the transition in a way that engenders trust with the general population and ensure that no sector or no part of society will bear costs unduly compared to others, Wood argues.

While addressing those issues, Wood is clear that people shouldnt be scared of managing down demand for oil and gas and the world tries to kickstart the green economy.

The UK Government is targeting 480,000 green jobs by 2030 the estimates may sound over-optimistic, but Wood disagrees.

High ambition begets momentum and once you start down that road and prove the benefits and prove that you know massive and accelerated rollout is possible, that just in itself engenders a huge amount of trust in the green shift and at the same time builds up a whole associated green economy.

So those figures around of 480,000 clean jobs by the end of the decade including 90,000 jobs in offshore wind thats absolutely not pie in the sky figures plucked out of nowhere.

Those things we know are true because of huge shifts in the green economy and clusters around green technology that weve seen building up in Aberdeen and elsewhere in the UK.

So that issue about the green economy and kickstarting a green economy, is a really powerful thing to introduce and people shouldnt be scared of managing down demand for oil and gas.

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Ambassador eyes offshore wind team-ups between UK and Norway - Energy Voice

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HOUSTON The Gulf of Mexicos first offshore wind farms will be developed off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, and together theyre projected to produce enough energy to power around 3 million homes.

The wind farms likely will not be up and running for years, energy analysts and the states grid operator said, but the announcement from the U.S. Interior Department is the first step in ramping up offshore wind energy in the United States, which has lagged behind that of Europe and China. The only two operating offshore wind energy farms in the U.S. are off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia, which together produce 42 megawatts of electricity enough to power fewer than 2,500 homes.

One of the new wind projects announced Wednesday will be developed 24 nautical miles off the coast of Galveston, covering a total of 546,645 acres bigger than the city of Houston with the potential to power 2.3 million homes, according to the U.S. Interior Departments Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The other project will be developed near Port Arthur, about 56 nautical miles off the coast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, covering 188,023 acres with the potential to power 799,000 homes.

Its exciting to see offshore wind in the Gulf getting closer to reality, said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, an environmental protection group. With strong winds in the evenings when we need energy the most, offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico would greatly complement Texas onshore renewable energy resources, help bolster our shaky electric grid and help our environment.

The wind farms will join a growing number of oil drilling rigs off the coast of Texas, including near Galveston, where the oil platforms dot the horizon looking out from Galvestons beaches. The Biden administration also recently has opened up land in the Gulf of Mexico for more offshore oil and gas drilling leases.

Gov. Greg Abbotts office did not respond to a request for comment about the new offshore wind energy developments.

Offshore wind has a great potential in Texas, Brad Jones, president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages Texas main power grid, told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. It will take some time to develop, and that time will be based on how quickly we can put together port facilities, the specialized ships that are necessary and train our labor force to achieve this type of development. It is new for the U.S.

Texas is already the countrys largest wind power producer and has land-based wind farms up and down the Gulf Coast, where winds typically blow harder.

Wind energys contributions to the Texas power grid vary depending on where, and how hard, the wind blows across the state. On Tuesday, when Texas hit a new record for energy consumption, wind and solar power combined to provide 25% of the energy on the grid, ERCOT said. On July 11, when ERCOT asked Texans to conserve electricity because demand threatened to exceed supply, wind generation dropped to less than 10% of its overall capacity.

ERCOT forecasters said they typically dont expect a lot of wind energy during hot summer days because during summer winds tend to be stronger at night.

Offshore wind provides much steadier energy production than wind farms on land in Texas, Jones said. With the extraordinary growth of Texas population and economy, Jones said we have to keep pace with that development.

So having an additional resource that can provide generation to Texans to keep the lights on is a value to all of us, Jones said.

Metzger and energy analysts said companies are interested in developing offshore wind projects in Texas, but its too early to tell how quickly they will be built and how much they will cost.

New financial incentives from the federal or state governments could speed up completion of the projects, the analysts said, but its unclear whether that will happen.

The commercial appetite is there it really is about the regulatory hurdles that exist, said Kenneth B. Medlock III, an energy expert at Rice University. Theres a lot of interest, without a doubt. Companies are actively lobbying to try to get these projects done.

Leaders in neighboring Louisiana have been actively working to attract wind energy production. Louisianas most recent climate plan, released in February, set a goal of generating 5 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2035, which could power millions of homes there. Texas does not have a state climate plan.

Louisiana, unlike Texas, has been really bullish on developing offshore wind and offering economic incentives to offshore wind, Metzger said.

Still, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, said Texas has consistently led in the offshore energy industry and is well positioned to house the new project.

Our region has the energy expertise and the existing infrastructure to support the expansion of wind opportunities while powering our country, Fletcher said in a statement. As an advocate for an all-of-the-above strategy for energy investment, I welcome this proposal and look forward to partnering with the Administration to create new jobs and to ensure our region and our country continue to lead the transition to a lower-carbon world.

Disclosure: Rice University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Proposed Texas offshore wind farm could power 2.3 million homes - The Texas Tribune

This opinion piece is part of a series from Energy Innovations policy experts on advancing an affordable, resilient and clean energy system. It was written by Mike OBoyle, director of electricity policy, and Michelle Solomon, policy analyst.

The West Coast is known for vast renewable energy potential: solar in California and hydropower in the Pacific Northwest. But its long coastline offers an untapped clean energy resource with massive potential for states and the nation offshore wind.

Achieving President Bidens goal of 100%clean power nationwide by 2035 is possible with only onshore resources. The same is true for California, Oregon and Washingtons ambitious clean energy goals. But land use, siting and permitting challenges mean scaling up offshore wind greatly increases their likelihood of success. Tapping this potential would also bolster grid reliability and create jobs.

Unfortunately, the United States lacks offshore wind ambition, particularly along the West Coast, where no established deployment targets exist. East Coast states, in contrast, are targeting more than 30,000 megawatts of capacity by 2035. And while President Biden announced a national goal of 30,000 MW by 2030, he has not designated a specific West Coast target.

West Coast offshore wind is enjoying promising tailwinds. Californias AB 525 directs the California Energy Commission to set planning goals through 2045, and Oregons HB 3375 requires its Department of Energy to identify benefits and challenges of 3,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has also designated call areas off the California and Oregon coasts and begun an environmental assessment, with conditional approval by the California Coastal Commission. BOEM also announced a proposed sale notice for two wind energy areas in California, with an estimated potential of 4,500 MW.

This is a good start, but much more is needed to develop West Coast wind and accelerate the transition to a reliable clean grid. Federal tax credits can help floating wind technology achieve commercial scale with cost reductions similar to onshore wind and solar technologies. Funding for port upgrades and transmission along with policies to accelerate the pace of leasing, siting and permitting will speed development.

Combined with state action to incorporate offshore wind into planning and procurement, these federal policies can move floating turbines from a niche resource to a core strategy for cleaning the grid.

Fixed bottom offshore wind is taking off, with 55,000 MW deployed worldwide. But this technology is infeasible on the West Coast due to much deeper waters. Developing offshore wind in these deeper waters requires floating turbines affixed to the seabed with long cables.

Floating offshore wind technology has a key advantage over onshore wind: size. Todays largest offshore turbines total 15 MW capacity, capable of powering about 20,000 households, and 18 MW turbines are expected soon, compared to 3-6 MW for onshore turbines. It also has an environmental advantage eliminating noisy pile driving for fixed bottom foundations is less disruptive for migrating marine mammals and other wildlife.

While floating turbine technology is mature, it is not as commercially widespread as fixed bottom turbines. Policy is needed to scale floating turbines in the U.S., but researchers expect floating and fixed offshore wind costs will converge in the long-term due to technological similarities.

Successful demonstration projects have spurred major floating wind contracts, including 5,000 MW off Scotlands coast. More than 25,000 MW of floating offshore wind projects are in the global pipeline, and 3,600 MW will come online in the next five years.

The U.S. electricity grid must be 70% to 80%clean by 2030 to achieve the countrys Paris Agreement goals. Given our current grid size, the U.S. could get there with onshore wind, solar and batteries. However, to reach net-zero emissions and support growing electrification, the grid must expand to add more diverse clean resources, all while overcoming land use constraints.

Offshore wind can be a crucial part of this diverse clean portfolio. A recent working paper from the University of California, Berkeley, shows West Coast offshore wind would deliver power when the Western grid needs it most in the early evening as the sun goes down with more consistency due to stronger ocean winds and larger turbines. The consistency and complementary nature of offshore wind power would enhance reliability, which will prove even more critical for an increasingly climate-stressed grid.

Tapping offshore winds potential would create new clean energy jobs and reinvigorate port communities. The University of Southern Californias Schwarzenegger Institute estimates 10,000 MW of California offshore wind development would create 120,000 to 180,000 job-years, including 4,000 permanent operations and maintenance jobs by 2040. Policies to support local component manufacturing, could create up to 50,000 additional job-years through 2040.

Floating turbine development could also revive historic deep-water port communities. The CEC approved a $10.5 million grant for investments in the Port of Humboldt Bay to support offshore wind. An economic assessment found the terminal could generate as many as 830 local jobs and more than $130 million in industry output over a five-year period. But much larger investments are needed to realize this economic opportunity.

Port upgrades are even more crucial to floating offshore wind compared to fixed bottom turbines, as the floating platforms must be assembled on shore and towed to their designated location. Investment in just a few ports could support installations across hundreds of miles of coastline. This infrastructure spending should happen now to prevent port capacity from becoming a bottleneck.

Offshore floating wind can provide new economic growth and be a much-needed source of reliable clean power for the Western U.S., but the projects are massive and complex. A handful of federal and state policies can work together to speed its commercial deployment.

Congress should extend the floating offshore wind production tax credit for at least 10 to 15 years at $25 per megawatt-hour as a foundational policy that provides certainty to developers, cuts costs,and helps scale this technology.

Congress should also dedicate funding for West Coast port and manufacturing cluster development to support the necessary infrastructure. Tying this funding to strong labor requirements and community benefit agreements can ensure local economies benefit without compromising air quality.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Congress can both support transmission to connect Western offshore wind with the rest of the Western grid FERC via planning and Congress with funding. An offshore subsea cable linking production along the West Coast would be the least-cost, highest-benefit approach.

The Biden administration can encourage responsible, timely offshore wind siting by accelerating BOEMs leasing process, particularly designating new areas for leasing and study beyond the four currently under consideration. Responsible siting should include funding for collecting and sharing data on offshore winds ecological impacts.

While federal action is necessary for most offshore wind projects due to their placement in federal waters, West Coast states should proactively plan and promote offshore wind to maximize benefits to their residents and grids. States should update offshore wind cost figures based on the state of todays technology and include estimates for five years due to long timelines from decisions to procurement. By incorporating expected cost declines, states can accurately assess the benefits of offshore wind.

West Coast states can also require utilities to include at least one scenario during integrated resource planning that features offshore wind, including quantified resource diversity benefits, to ensure diverse portfolios are considered. Instituting competitive procurement will also allow offshore wind to compete on equal footing with other resources. Finally, an interstate working group on offshore wind and transmission development can assess resiliency benefits of proposals like a subsea transmission link and increase project planning efficiency.

Offshore wind can have significant reliability, economic and climate benefits but policy action is needed now. Coordinated federal and state action can provide financial incentives, prepare for new infrastructure needs, accelerate leasing and permitting, and incorporate offshore wind into state planning and procurement processes. With all West Coast states committed to 100%clean electricity and unmatched offshore wind resources, planning for this technology today will provide smooth sailing tomorrow.

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Unleashing the economic power and reliability potential of West Coast offshore wind - Utility Dive