Category Archives: Offshore

After a 20-year incubation, planning for offshore wind energy has exploded under the Biden administration and fishermen on the East and West coasts are facing a steady stream of challenges, said panelists at a Pacific Marine Expo panel Thursday.

We have been fighting offshore wind since 2003. On the East Coast we think there are about 16 wind leases that are starting to crop up, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

Our role has been rabble rouser to let people know whats involved in these projects, said Brady, a National Fisherman 2020 Highliner. I used to be a reporter. I think the truth is really important. They will pick you off, group by group, state by state. By having a collective force for all of us, we are able to fight it more effectively.

On West Coast waters, plans by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and wind developers are still in infancy but moving faster, said Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations.

This is where it is today, who knows where things will be tomorrow or this afternoon, Conroy quipped in summarizing the California situation.

The California state lands commission is looking at two pilot projects, four turbines each under environmental review, he said. The 376-square mile Morro Bay wind energy area formally opened the BOEM public comment period Friday. To the north, the Humboldt Wind Energy Area, outlined in July 2021, could move to the next stage with public comment in January, he said.

In Oregon, where BOEM has yet to propose call areas inviting industry proposals, the state is taking a measured approach with its own study group.

The process that has been unfolding in Oregon really could be a role model for the future, with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife pressing BOEM for more detail, said Conroy.

Washington is even further behind Oregon, which is further behind California, but the Grays Harbor Wind development group is seeking support for a project there, he said.

The deepwater Gulf of Maine is another frontier for offshore wind developers but moving apace with encouragement from the state of Maine, said Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermens Association.

One turbine site for research has expanded to a 16-mile experimental wind power zone, said Porter. Our role has been as a mediator. Normally that would be your state agency, but there is no honest broker because our state is the applicant.

The big question is who gets to pick where these sites are going to be, said Porter. He noted how in Maine, where fishing tends to be territorial among lobstermen from the same ports, taking grounds from one group may prompt then to try moving into another area where theyre not very welcome.

We consider ourselves fishermen, but were also food producers, said Porter. While wind power advocates predict new jobs from offshore turbines, some displacement of fishing jobs is inevitable, he said.

Theres already an industry there. Yeah, you got plenty of it, but somebodys going to be looking for a new job, Porter added. In these small communities, you dont look for a new job, you look for a new life.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of about 200 members associated with the fishing industry, organized about four years ago so we could find a consensus in the industrys position on offshore wind and put that forward, said RODA Executive Director Annie Hawkins.

Now the group has a West Coast branch, and races to keep up with the Biden administrations ambitions.

There was a goal of 110 gigawatts by 2050, about four times the power grid of New England quoted in some federal planning, said Hawkins. Thats about 11,000 square miles of ocean.

But the shorter-term goal of 30 GW by 2030 is being called probably not achievable considering the challenges of building a U.S. supply chain, planning and permitting, she said.

To a large extent we really dont know what kind of technology were talking about right now, said Hawkins. There is no such thing as a 12- or 15-MW floating turbine. But thats what theyre planning for these areas.

Its apparent that government and industry are seeing the oceans as a previously unexploited source of energy and site for new development that would encounter stronger political opposition in populated areas on land, said Hawkins.

We are at the beginning of an entirely new era of how our government is looking at our oceans, she said. If youre not paying attention yet, its a darn good time to start doing it.

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Offshore wind plans coming fast and furious - National Fisherman

HOUSTON, Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International and SBM Offshore have established a special purpose company to perform Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for a FloatingProduction, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel under contracts for the Yellowtail development project.

Through the special purpose company, McDermott and SBM Offshore will design and construct the FPSO project, which will follow the FEED and is subject to government approvals in Guyana of the development plan, project sanction including final investment decision by ExxonMobil and Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited's (EEPGL) release of the second phase of work.

The FPSO will be the fourth to be deployed in Guyana and will be designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 5,900 feet (1,800 meters) and will be able to store around two million barrels of crude oil.

"McDermott brings unrivaled project execution, integrated engineering and modularization and industry leadership to this important project," said Samik Mukherjee, McDermott Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

"We will leverage our worldwide engineering centers and access the modularization design and fabrication expertise of our Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan (QMW) fabrication yard in China. Thisand our shared vision with SBM Offshore for integrated solutions, optimized efficiency and delivery assurancewill enable success," said Tareq Kawash, McDermott Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East, Africa.

McDermott and SBM Offshore will provide project management, basic design, procurement, engineering, integration and commissioning services. SBM Offshore will manage the transport and installation and then lease the FPSO and operate it for a period of up to two years.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach engineered to responsibly harness and transform global energy resources into the products the world needs. From concept to commissioning, McDermott's innovative expertise and capabilities advance the next generation of global energy infrastructureempowering a brighter, more sustainable future for us all. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally-focused and globally-integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit http://www.mcdermott.com.

About SBM

The Company's main activities are the design, supply, installation, operation and the life extension of floating production solutions for the offshore energy industry over the full lifecycle. The Company is market leading in leased floating production systems, with multiple units currently in operation. As of December 31, 2020, the Company employs approximately 4,570 people worldwide spread over offices in our key markets, operational shore bases and the offshore fleet of vessels. SBM Offshore N.V. is a listed holding company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For further information, please visit the website http://www.sbmoffshore.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

McDermott cautions that statements in this communication which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the expected scope and execution of the project discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit or capital markets; our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog; changes in project design or schedules; the availability of qualified personnel; changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties; changes in industry norms; actions by lenders, other creditors, customer and other business counterparties of McDermott and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This communication reflects the views of McDermott's management as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Global Media Relations

Reba Reid

Senior Director, Global Communications and Marketing

+1 281 588 5636

RReid@McDermott.com

Local Media Relations

Barbara Knight

Senior Director, Area Communications and Marketing

+971 56 403 2903

BBKnight@McDermott.com

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McDermott and SBM Offshore to Deliver Fourth FPSO in Guyana - inForney.com

DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizenship by investment has always been the ultimate Plan B, a failsafe that protects against economic and political turbulence. It is for this reason, among many others such as enhanced global mobility, that many of the world's elite opt to obtain a St. Kitts & Nevis passport through investment. But the twin-island nation offers more in terms of risk mitigation, especially in terms of asset protection.

The Caribbean country boasts one of the leading citizenship by investment programs in the world, being the first to establish such a framework back in 1984. But what few people know is that it is also home to one of the most exclusive financial service sectors in the world, an environment that boasts some of the best asset protection tools in the world.

What is Asset Protection?

Asset protection is taking measures to ensure your wealth, composed of money or tangible assets such as real estate or stocks, is protected from loss either through economic fluctuation or from creditors.

Related Article: Mitigating Risk How a Second Citizenship Protects Citizens of Unstable Regions

For example, diversifying your money into multiple currencies is one way to protect the majority of it from sudden economic turbulence, like what happened in Venezuela or Lebanon. Having cash in different currencies keeps you afloat if one of them suddenly fails. This route is considered basic asset protection.

Other, more complex methods, include establishing foreign LLCs investing in government bonds, or opening offshore bank accounts and trusts. It is the two latter options, however, that fit perfectly with obtaining a second citizenship from St. Kitts & Nevis, and that is what we will discuss in-depth today.

What is Offshore Banking?

Offshore banking refers to opening a bank account in a foreign nation. Offshore banking comes with a multitude of benefits such as:

Being Able to Diversify Your Currency

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offshore banks usually deal with all types of currency, unlike domestic banks that focus on local currency and may have unfavourable exchange rates. Offshore banks in St. Kitts & Nevis are adept at operating with a multitude of currencies worldwide, and thanks to the diversity of investors who obtain citizenship, they have teams capable of servicing clients from all over the world.

Simplifying International Business

Offshore banks make international transfers and closing global business deals simple. Offshore banks in St. Kitts & Nevis are not bound by restrictions many countries face in terms of conducting business with certain nations, and allow for smooth transactions.

Ultimate Security & Privacy

High-net-worth individuals are always targeted by the media and taxation bodies to reveal their wealth to the public. Offshore banks in Nevis have complete privacy, and are in fact quite exclusive. Opening a bank account in Nevis not only protects your assets through a robust financial framework, but also provides high levels of secrecy.

You Might Also Like: Citizenship by Investment Grow Your Business In Europe

Even the infamous Paradise Paper leaks, which leaked information regarding companies and banks throughout various nations, could not penetrate the security structure of Nevis' banks and companies, protecting their clients and residents from harm.

Crypto-Friendly Trading

St. Kitts & Nevis is one of the world's most crypto-friendly nations in the world. Those looking to invest in cryptocurrency can do so through an offshore bank in the Caribbean country, which incidentally boasts a multitude of Bitcoin ATMs throughout its cities.

What Are Offshore Trusts?

Offshore trusts are the ultimate asset protection tool. A trust is a framework upon which the investors (trustor) shifts all ownership of certain assets to the trust manager (trustee) along with a letter of orders on how to use or distribute the funds to any third party (beneficiaries).

People Who Read This Article Also Read: Obtaining A Caribbean Second Citizenship Has Never Been Easier

Trust law in St. Kitts & Nevis is one of the most complex in the world, and it is popular for favouring the investor over creditors. It also allows for trustors to be beneficiaries of the trust, or for the trust to conduct its own international business. Opening an offshore trust in St. Kitts & Nevis comes with endless benefits, the main ones being:

Complete Asset Protection

by shifting ownership of assets to a trust no one can come and take them from you. They cannot take what you do not have. But, at the same time, through your instructions (trust deed), you maintain full control over your assets. No court or creditor can force you to terminate the trust and pay them, because you do not technically own the assets.

Protection Against Lawsuits

For a creditor to take money from your trust, they need to sue the trust itself. Doing that in St. Kitts & Nevis can prove a torrid task, as anyone who wants to file a legal claim against a trust in St. Kitts & Nevis must:

Deposit a 25,000 USD bond with the government before filing a claim

Complete legal action within one year of the claim

Sue a foreign entity in a foreign land run under common law

Prove wrongdoing beyond any reasonable doubt, which is a burden of proof regularly left for criminal cases elsewhere, not civil ones.

Hence, suing a trust in St. Kitts & Nevis becomes a convoluted process that entails high legal fees, a lot of time, and great risk.

Tax Incentives

A trust in St. Kitts & Nevis may help out with taxation depending on the country the trustor is from. Trusts in St. Kitts & Nevis lower the burden of wealth by transferring asset ownership, hence affecting wealth tax. St. Kitts & Nevis trust law also allows trust to conduct business on their own according to the trust deed, and the income generated by the trust can be taxed favourably, or not even taxed at all, depending on the case.

The Perfect Alignment

Opening an offshore bank account and establishing an offshore trust in St. Kitts & Nevis goes hand in hand with gaining the citizenship of the nation through investment.

Don't Miss: Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C; Why Everyone Needs A Second Citizenship

Gaining St. Kittian citizenship grants an extra layer of protection through offering a resolute Plan B as well as granting you a status of a citizen when opening a bank account and trusts, which means you are not bound by international law when doing so, but local laws that favour you heavily.

Citizenship by investment in St. Kitts & Nevis is much more than just enhancing your global mobility; it is complete protection for you, your family, and your wealth.

To know more about the subject, all you need to do is contact us today to book a consultation with one of our citizenship by investment experts.

Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. Founded in 1797, the agency has evolved from pharmaceuticals to family assets and legacy protection through second citizenship and residency. The company's professional, multinational staff is made up of expert advisors who have guided thousands of clients, including many North African investors, on their journey to find the most suitable CBI program for them. The Savory & Partners team will be happy to answer your enquiries in English, Arabic and French.

For more information, please send an email to contact@savoryandpartners.com. You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955.

Cision

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Savory & Partners; St. Kitts & Nevis offshore banking and trusts: your optimal asset protection tools - Yahoo Finance

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkey is acquiring a new drilling ship to search for natural gas in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the countrys president announced Wednesday, amid unresolved tensions with Greece and Cyprus over Ankaras offshore energy exploration.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told legislators from his ruling party that Turkey is expanding its fleet of drilling vessels to four, describing the new ship as a high-tech vessel.

Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Twitter that the ship would be capable of drilling at a depth of some 3,600 meters (11,800 feet).

Last year, Turkeys offshore energy exploration efforts raised tensions with Greece and Cyprus. Warships from Greece and Turkey shadowed each other in the Aegean Sea after Turkish search vessels and drill ships prospected for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights.

Ankara rejects those claims, saying they infringe on the rights of Turkey and of Turkish Cypriots on the divided island of Cyprus.

Turkey has announced that it has found around 540 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea. The government says it plans to extract and use the gas by 2023, reducing its dependence on energy imports.

Link:

Amid tensions, Turkey expands its offshore drilling fleet - Associated Press

The Philly Shipyard recently locked down a $200 million contract to build a cutting edge vessel critical for constructing offshore wind turbines.

The Texas-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company has commissioned a 461-foot-long subsea rock installation vessel. The boat will have space for 45 crew members and 20,000 megatons of rock which it will deposit on the ocean floor to create foundations for new turbines.

Great Lakes has the option to buy a second vessel from the shipyard if construction of the first boat goes well, which would bring the total balance for the contract to over $380 million.

The first boat will be done some time in late 2024. If Great Lakes decides to move forward with a second vessel, it will be completed by late 2025.

The boat will likely be put to use somewhere on the east coast between Massachusetts and Virginia, Great Lakes' Senior Vice President Bill Hanson said.

The workers are proud to be building "a vessel which will be essential in achieving the nations ambitious offshore wind targets," said Thomas Grunwald, the shipyard's vice president.

News of the new high-tech boat came after the Biden administration announced its plans to double the nation's offshore wind generation to 30 gigawatts annually by 2030 earlier this year. That's enough to power 10 million homes.

Over that period, the cost of wind energy is expected to drop by over 50%, which would make it more competitive with other forms of power like natural gas.

Although Pennsylvania doesn't have any offshore wind turbines, the share of its power gleaned from wind has more than doubled since 2010 to almost 3,900 thousand megawatt hours, which accounts for 1.68% of the state's energy needs.

Two of Pennsylvania's neighbors with access to the Atlantic Ocean are trying to up their offshore wind capacity.

New Jersey, a state with roughly 130 miles of coastline, currently only has two wind farms, one in Bayonne and another in Atlantic City. Together they generate about 22 thousand megawatt hours annually, which accounts for only about 0.04% of the state's energy needs.

Gov. Phil Murphy hopes his state will install enough turbines to supply 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind power, enough to power 3.2 million homes, before 2035 as part of his plan to make the state's energy infrastructure 100% renewable by 2050.

A key element of that plan is the Ocean Wind project, a collaboration between Danish energy company Orsted and local utility provider PSE&G to build out 1,100 megawatts worth of turbines about 15 miles off the South Jersey coast. The first part of the project is expected to be done in 2024.

In Delaware, perhaps the only state in the northeast more beach-oriented than New Jersey, there's currently only one active windfarm. The University of Delaware's turbines in Lewes generates about five megawatt hours, or about 0.11% of the state's power needs.

Gov. John Carney formed a committee to explore expanding offshore wind in 2017.

At present, Orsted plans to build out its Skipjack project, a wind farm off the coast of Fenwick Island which would provide 120 megawatts of energy to Maryland annually, enough to power 40,000 homes.

The company aims to have part of that project complete by 2026 and could potentially expand it afterward.

Orsted also currently holds a lease for another 96,000 acre parcel immediately north of Skipjack as part of a partnership with PSE&G called Garden State Offshore Energy. Although there are currently no plans to build there, the parcel could provide up to a megawatt of power to New Jersey each year.

Offshore wind projects in New Jersey and Delaware have been met with staunch opposition, mainly from residents of the waterfront communities who want to keep their views intact.

There are also environmental concerns in both states, as these projects would be hard to complete without damaging some of the fragile ecosystems along the Atlantic seaboard.

The two seem to be playing second fiddle to other states on the east coast when it comes to offshore wind.

When asked about where the new boats might be put to use, Laura Johnson, Great Lakes' marketing and communications manager, listed off roughly a dozen offshore wind projects in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Virginia, but none in New Jersey or Delaware.

The amount of power both states get from wind has remained roughly the same since 2014, while Rhode Island has expanded its wind power over 25 times in the same period. It now accounts for about 2.9% of the state's energy needs.

Thousands of acres off the coast of Rhode Island and Cape Cod in Massachusetts have been sold to energy companies looking to build offshore wind farms.

Construction is currently underway on Vineyard Winds 1, the nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind project, 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. When complete, the 62 wind turbines will provide over 800 megawatts, or enough power for 400,000 homes, each year.

Furthermore, Johnson said that New York -- which already gets 3.75% of its power from wind, edging out every other state in the Mid-Atlantic -- is exploring building out over 3,000 megawatts worth of turbines off the coast of Long Island.

Even Virginia, a state that currently gets none of its power from wind, is now piloting a 12 megawatt offshore wind farmoff the coast of Virginia Beach and hopes to build out over 2,600 megawatts by 2026.

Hanson said that while offshore wind projects in the U.S. aren't exclusive to the east coast, the new boats being commissioned would not be useful on the west coast.

Offshore wind turbines in the Pacific Ocean would need to be constructed on floating piers rather than on the ocean floor, as the water off the west coast of the country is much deeper.

While the Philly Shipyard has long been a destination for private companies in need of container ships or tankers, President and CEO Steinar Nerbovik said in a release that the shipyard has been trying to diversify recently with more government-oriented contracts.

In addition to this new contract with Great Lakes, the shipyard is also currently in the process of building four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels for a Florida-based ship management company called TOTE Services.

These specialized vessels are used by governments to both train naval recruits and respond to emergencies on the homefront like natural disasters.

Like Great Lakes, TOTE has the option to commission a fifth vessel from the shipyard.

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Philly Shipyard gets $200 million contract to build offshore wind turbine construction boat - PhillyVoice.com

HOUSTON, Nov. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) (W&T or the Company) today announced that the Company was the apparent high bidder on two blocks in the Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257 held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on November 17, 2021. W&T will also be participating in two upcoming investor conferences.

Lease Sale 257

W&T was the apparent high bidder in the most recent Gulf of Mexico lease sale on two shallow water blocks, Eugene Island South Addition block 385 and Ship Shoal South Addition block 360. These two blocks cover a total of approximately 10,000 gross acres. If awarded, the Company will pay approximately $295,000 in total for the awarded leases combined, which reflect a 100% working interest in the acreage. The blocks have a lease term of five years and a 12.5% royalty. Despite submitting the apparent high bid on these leases, the BOEM reserves the right not to award the blocks based on their minimum bidding criteria. W&T expects to receive the final award results over the next 90 days.

Investor Conferences

W&T will be participating at the following upcoming investor events:

Bank of America Securities Leveraged Finance Conference 2021 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tracy W. Krohn will present Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time and will also host virtual one-on-one meetings. The presentation will be webcast live and archived on W&Ts website, http://www.wtoffshore.com, on the Overview page in the Investors section of the site. An updated investor slide deck prepared in conjunction with the conference will be posted on the website under Presentations prior to the presentation.

Capital One Securities 16th Annual Energy Conference the Companys senior management will be hosting virtual one-on-one meetings with investors on Monday, December 6, 2021. W&T will not be making a formal presentation. An investor deck prepared in conjunction with the conference will be posted in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website under Presentations.

About W&T Offshore

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W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer with operations offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and has grown through acquisitions, exploration and development. The Company currently has working interests in 41 producing fields in federal and state waters and has under lease approximately 611,000 gross acres, including approximately 424,000 gross acres on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf and approximately 187,000 gross acres in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater. A majority of the Companys daily production is derived from wells it operates. For more information on W&T, please visit the Companys website at http://www.wtoffshore.com.

CONTACT:

Al Petrie

Brent Collins

Investor Relations Coordinator

Director of Investor Relations

apetrie@wtoffshore.com

bcollins1@wtoffshore.com

713-297-8024

713-624-7364

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W&T Offshore Apparent High Bidder on Two Gulf of Mexico Blocks in Lease Sale 257 and Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Conferences - Yahoo...

Between drought, forest fires, and mudslides and what-not, California seems to be one big ball of problems these days. One of those problems in the what-not category is access to offshore wind power. The Pacific coast is teeming with renewable energy potential, but the water is too deep for conventional offshore wind turbines. The Golden State is missing out on thousands of new jobs and bundles of economic activity, except maybe not, if all goes according to plan in France.

The offshore wind technology that can conquer deep waters is a simple platform that enables wind turbines to float on the surface instead of having to be fixed into the seabed. Of course, the devil is in the details, including the challenges posed by stormy seas and saltwater corrosion as well as the little matter of transferring all those clean kilowatts from an offshore location onto shore, in addition to fighting off objections from other marine stakeholders.

So, its not that simple. The floating offshore wind turbine industry has been baby-stepping its way into the global clean power portfolio, but activity has been picking up rapidly in the past few years. Among the recent projects is the proposed Les oliennes Flottantes du Golfe de Lion (EFGL) floating offshore wind farm hosted by France.

The 30-megawatt project will sport three 10-megawatt turbines planned for a site in the Natural Park of the Gulf of Lion about 16 kilometers from the coast of Leucate and Le Barcares in the French Mediterranean.

The new wind farm also represents a strategy for working around objections from the fishing industry, as it is located in a marine reserve.

Its a good bet that wind stakeholders in California are taking notice of the EFGL project. The company behind the floating platforms for the new wind farm is Principle Power, a firm that first crossed the CleanTechnica radar back in 2009 with an experimental floating wind project supported by the US Department of Energy.

By 2014 Principle Power was demonstrating its floating wind power technology off the coast of Oregon, again with the support of the US Department of Energy, and the company has continued to help shepherd the floating wind industry along here in the US.

All that activity put the US in the pole position to lead the world in floating wind technology. Too bad certain state and federal policy makers (you know who you are) missed the boat on creating new jobs in the US offshore wind industry, but that gave France an opportunity to take advantage of lessons learned while Principle Power fine tuned its technology.

EFGL will see the deployment of the 3rd generation of WindFloat technology, which builds on lessons learned from previous projects and includes important innovations in modularization and manufacturability to further increase deliverability and competitiveness, Principle Power enthuses.

The EFGL project could have huge implications for the entire US wind industry. Floating or not, offshore wind has been slow to take off in the US even while other nations have leaped ahead. The EFGL project will demonstrate how offshore wind fits into the energy transition, economic development, and nature conservation picture.

According to Principle Power, the project will create almost 400 direct and indirect long term jobs. An additional 100 or so manufacturing jobs will be created during the construction process, which will be housed in a facility that had been previously targeted for oil and gas infrastructure.

As indicated by its location in a nature preserve, the new offshore wind farm will feature a number of modifications aimed at promoting biodiversity while discouraging invasive species.

Among those is an artificial fish habitat developed by the firm Ecoocean, to be installed on one of the floating platforms. Called Biohut, the habitat has already been tested on an observation buoy in the marine park.

Researchers observed a real increase in the biodiversity of species in and around BOB and, importantly, no invasive species were observed on the structure, Principle Power explains, adding that This project is very important for us because the WindFloat technology used will be a little different than what we did previously. We have optimized the structure thanks to the experience we have acquired.

It looks like the EFGL project is on track to commence operations in 2023. Meanwhile, Principle Power is ramping things up a notch.

A new 270-megawatt offshore wind project is taking shape in South Brittany, and among those in the running to develop it is Ocean Winds, a mashup of the well known firms ENGIE and EDP Renewables. Last week, Ocean Winds announced that it will be collaborating with Principle Power to design the floating turbine platforms.

Thats peanuts compared to Californias offshore wind power potential, which easily soars into the gigawatt scale.

For that matter, California needs to pick up the pace if it wants to lay claim to the first floating offshore wind farm in the US. Little old Maine could beat California to the punch. A few years back, the Pine Tree State was hot on the track of new floating wind technology that could enable it to plumb its rough coastline for offshore wind power, only to be sidetracked by politics. Now it appears that the project is back on track.

Circling back around to California and all those gigawatts of clean power, last year the organization American Jobs Project released a report anticipating that the overall job-creating potential of the California offshore wind industry adds up to about 17,500 direct and indirect jobs.

Thats only based on a conservative estimate of installing 18 gigawatts in offshore wind capacity by 2045. The state actually boasts a technical potential of 112 gigawatts. Many of those extra gigawatts are far out of reach, but others could be up for grabs.

In an interesting twist, oil and gas developers could speed things along in the offshore area by leveraging their offshore knowledge base and investment muscle.

The cost of floating offshore wind remains an obstacle, but fans of the technology point out that wind speeds are more optimal farther offshore, raising the potential for squeezing maximum efficiency out of each turbine.

Another question yet to be settled is whos going to work all those new green jobs. After all, were in the middle of a profound labor shortage. Millions of US workers quit their jobs during the pandemic and many dropped out of the workforce entirely to care for children and other family members.

More support for child care, family care, education and job training would help, so keep an eye on that Build Back Better bill floating around Congress.

Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey.

Photo: Floating offshore turbines via Ocean Winds.

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How France Is Solving Californias Offshore Wind Power Problem - CleanTechnica

The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.

Despite approval from a multitude of oversight agencies, a pilot offshore windmill project on Lake Erie is facing some strong headwinds the next few months amid the fallout of Ohios ongoing energy scandal.

In the summer of 2009 with the backing if the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga and Lorain counties, the Cleveland Foundation and other influential public and private agencies the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) was formally started. The purpose was simple and basic: With energy production changing into more renewables and less dependent on old coal-fired power plants, LEEDCo was to develop a small windmill pilot program in Lake Erie called Icebreaker.

LEEDCo was always more about basic economics than being an environmental fringe outpost. The six windmills eight miles offshore would provide electricity to the nearby grid, but also could be a big boost for the Cleveland and Ohio economy. The project showed such investment promise that the U.S. Department of Energy gave them a $40 million grant in 2016.

This could be incredibly transformative, Cleveland Foundation president and CEO Ronn Richard said in 2017. The Midwest could become the epicenter of wind turbine manufacturing. And we could ship them across the Great Lakes.

The reasoning for this was very simple. Opposition to windmills has generally come from people who live next door to the spinning blades, and being offshore takes that out of the equation. And the thinking goes that the Great Lakes could be ripe for such renewable energy offshore, given that there are about 100,000 square miles of water surface (with 10,000 square miles being in Lake Erie).

Despite dotting all the is and crossing all the ts to get the small offshore windmill energy farm up and running and that included getting approval by the U.S. EPA, the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Environmental Council, The Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the Ohio Attorney General and others for over ten years the project is facing some tough going in the next few months.

The whole history of this pilot offshore windmill program is long and laborious in its hearings and special interests coming forward, but the latest problems are directly connected with the ongoing investigation over energy company FirstEnergy and the HB 6 bill corruption scandal in the Ohio state legislature.

What is relative to the Icebreaker projects status involves Sam Randazzo, the energy lobbyist who Gov. Mike DeWine appointed in February 2019 as the states top regulator at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). According to court documents in the case, Randazzo had received $22 million from FirstEnergy Corp. in the decade before his appointment as a lobbyist including $4.3 million paid just before assuming the post.

What Randazzo did a year later involving Icebreaker was quite questionable when he chaired the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB), a powerful group under PUCO which oversees locations and regulations of any and all energy infrastructure. The OPSB ruled in May of 2020 that the Icebreaker project could only move forward if its blades were turned off every night for eight months of the year.

The reason? Randazzo enacted this action, which some have called a poison pill, because he claimed the eight windmills would kill too many birds and bats. But there was no proof it would. A study that was required of LEEDCo found there might be 21-42 birds and 21-83 bats put at risk by the 21-megawatt wind farm that would produce enough electricity to power about 7,000 homes.

An ornithologist, Caleb Gordon, who prepared the bird and bat study for a LEEDCo, had called it the lowest risk project he ever studied.

By contrast, numerous studies demonstrate that far more bird deaths are caused by collisions with buildings (676 million), vehicles (214 million), and power lines (32 million) in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that somewhere between 140,000 and 500,000 bird deaths occur at wind farms each year in the U.S. , all of them on land.

Even though the OPSB overruled the Randazzo-led ruling in October 2020 after he resigned, the action he had previously taken has led to some serious consequences for the pilot program. Icebreaker went from being a likely first-ever U.S. offshore wind energy program to becoming way behind the projects getting certified off the east coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The Biden Administration announced in mid-October it was backing these ocean offshore wind energy projects with federal government funding and government help on infrastructure work.

After more than a decade of hard work, the Icebreaker project is now in flux. Two intervenors from Bratenahl, Ohio, a suburb east of downtown Cleveland, has filed protests over the windmill project because they thought the project would hurt birds and fishing in the lake, and the eight-mile distant windmills would also allegedly disturb their view from their balconies at their high-rise condos. The Randazzo ruling and subsequent flip has opened up the courts to decide the fate of this protest.

Courts will have to rule on whether the change of the OPSB action was legal. The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this issue on Dec. 7, and there will likely be no high court ruling until well into 2022 or early 2023.

This delay has put the project into a bad spot regarding the private funding necessary to get the project completed. The U.S. Department for Energy is ready to pull its grant ($37 million yet unspent) because the timeframe in which it needs to be used will expire, and the foreign investor, Norwegian wind energy builder Fred Olson Renewables, which was likely going to invest a large part of the $173 million needed to complete the project and have some ownership, might pull out.

According to some involved in saving Icebreaker, the logical solution would be get some statewide funding from places like the American Rescue Plan federal grants to keep Icebreaker from dying, given that the state of Ohio has about $5.4 billion to spend from that program. But the Republican-led state legislature doesnt seem too inclined to do any backing of renewable energy sources, so the certainty of any legislative solution remains very vague at this point.

State Rep. Jeff Crossman, D-Parma, sent a letter in August asking for PUCO to investigate Randazzos role in helping to kill the windmill project.

While Sam Randazzo professed to be transparent, it is obvious now that was not the case, Crossman wrote. He has asked specifically for Documentation of any communication between FirstEnergy (and any of its agents, lobbyists, attorneys, etc.) and Randazzo regarding the proposed wind turbine project in Lake Erie (the Ice Breaker project).

State Rep. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, wrote an opinion column recently in the Akron Beacon Journal supporting the project.

Ohio is connected to COP26 by the Icebreaker Project [It] would be a first-in-the-nation demonstration project to help the United States learn how to build offshore wind in the Great Lakes. It would continue to chart the course of offshore wind that the present federal administration has made a priority. Icebreaker could launch a new national enterprise that employs hundreds of Ohioans if state government would just let it happen.

The city of Cleveland announced in February it was considering an inquiry into Randazzos role in the HB 6 investigation as it related to the LEEDCo project, though how far it has moved along remains unclear at this point.

Many supporters are still puzzled how this seemingly small and relatively unobtrusive project with the backing of government groups, investors, and private foundations got derailed like this. Many thought the Great Lakes were ripe for offshore wind projects, given that LEEDCo had solved some of the problems that might be associated with winter ice, waves and anchoring it on the Lake Erie floor.

For many years, the [Ohio Environmental Council] and Sierra Club have supported Icebreaker Wind, Miranda Leppla, vice president of energy for the Ohio Environmental Council, said in a statement last year after Randazzo initial decision.

Responsibly developing this offshore wind demonstration project will help us not only achieve cleaner air and healthier communities, but it will also put Ohio on the map as a leader in renewable energy technologies as this project would be the first freshwater offshore wind farm in North America. We thank LEEDCo for their diligence in protecting the environment, not only by working to bring clean energy to our state, but also to ensure that any potential adverse impact was minimal.

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Lake Erie offshore windmill pilot project in jeopardy amid scandal fallout - News 5 Cleveland

The GEPF concluded negotiations about the geographic allocation of its assets in October 2020. The revised allocation for offshore investments has moved from a maximum of 10% to 15%.

The Government Employees' Pension Fund (GEPF) says it has received the green light to invest up to 15% of its assets offshore. The pension fund for civil servants had been negotiating with Treasury about allocating more of its money offshore since the days of Public Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO Abel Sithole when he was still its CEO.

The GEPF could only invest 10% of its more than R2 trillion-strong assets outside SA.

During the presentation of the group's 2021 integrated report and financial statements on Thursday, GEPF CEO Musa Mabesa said the GEPF concluded negotiations with the finance minister about the geographic allocation of its assets in October last year.

"The revised allocation for offshore investments has moved from a maximum of 10% of the total [assets under management] to up to 15%," said Mabena.

He said it was desirable that there's no big movement in the percentage of assets the GEPF can invest offshore. The fund wouldn't want "a big-bang approach" on this.

"You'll appreciate that if we were to move the bulk of our investments outside of South Africa, it would have a devastating impact on the economy itself because of the sheer size of the GEPF," said Mabena.

However, the fund has not even reached the 10% allocation. The pension fund is still reviewing some of its investment mandates with the PIC, which will likely change its offshore asset allocation in future.

"The coincidence of us reviewing the mandate together with a revision of where we want to invest allows us to work on those two simultaneously. And then once we are ready to implement, that [offshore allocation] will start showing in future annual reports," said Mabena.

But he emphasised that, given the size of the GEPF, it will "sensitively" manage future offshore allocations. First, it has to get to the 10% offshore allocation that was always allowed and then take it from there. But he said the home bias towards SA has worked in the GEPF's favour in the year ended in March.

Thanks to favourable market movements in the 12 months to 31 March, the GEPF's assets reached R2 trillion for the first time in the first quarter of 2021. The fund's value increased by 27.5% compared to what it reported at the end of March 2020.

The fund said the yearly returns for international portfolios were very high in US dollar terms. But a stronger rand moderated these returns to 28.5% for equities and minus 5.11% for bonds in rand terms. In comparison, the GEPF equity and bond portfolios in SA returned 48.49% and 15.83%, respectively.

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The GEPF can now invest 15% of its assets offshore, but there's no rush - News24

The future Bokalift 2, formerly the drillship Yan (image courtesy Boskalis)

PublishedNov 15, 2021 2:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

Dutch heavy lift operator Boskalis has secured awind farm foundation installation charter worth more than $500 million, demonstrating the earnings potential inthe booming offshore wind space.

The contract covers all transportation and installation of the monopile foundations and substations for an unnamed offshore wind farm development, and it will make use of two specialized heavy lift crane ships.Boskalis did not specify the developer or the region, but monopiles are frequently used in the shallow waters of theEuropean offshore wind sector.

Both vessels are heavily-modified conversions, though the base vessel and form factor are quite different. Bokalift 1 (ex name Finesse) is a former heavy-lift semisubmersible ship with a low working deck aft of the pilothouse. Bokalift 2 is a former drillship (ex name Yan), and she is having her derrick removed and her hull widened with the addition of sponsons. Both vessels are DP2-rated for stationkeeping, and both have been fitted with ultra-high-capacity cranes - a 3,000-tonne model for Bokalift 1 and a 4,000-tonne crane for Bokalift 2.

Conversion work on Bokalift 2 is now under way at Drydocks World in Dubai. Boskalis has reported that the new vessel's first charter will be in support of its contract for jacket installation at the Changfang and Xidao wind farm project off the coast of Taiwan. The company began early work on that project in July 2021, and the developer is expected to begin commercial operations of the wind farmin 2024.

Boskalis' newly-announced $500 million contract for monopile installation will tie up one full ship-year of crane vessel utilization days, in addition to the equivalent of two ship-years of heavy transport vessel operation. Engineering and pre-construction work has already begun, and the work is scheduled to begin in 2023.

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Boskalis Wins $500 Million Contract for Offshore Wind Installation - The Maritime Executive