Saving Seafood

Offshore wind advocates see Gulf of Mexico opportunity

August 25, 2021 — Building on moves by Louisiana, offshore wind advocates see the Gulf of Mexico as a next major step for developing the U.S. industry – possibly including re-use of offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines as assets for an allied “green hydrogen” industry.

“We know offshore wind takes a long time to get off the ground…we’ve got to move fast,” said Liz Burdock, president and CEO of the industry group Business Network for Offshore Wind, on the opening days of its International Partnering Forum conference in Richmond, Va.

BNOW’s Gulf of Mexico working group conferred by video Tuesday with officials in Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which has been working since June on Bel Edwards’ request to seek commercial interest in developing wind power off his state.

The agency is taking its early look at a swath of the gulf outer continental shelf out to 4,000-foot depth for potential siting of fixed-foundation and floating wind turbines.

“We are at the very beginning of that process,” said Tershara Matthews of BOEM. The agency is reviewing comments from stakeholders – along with some proprietary information offered by potential wind developers – to assess its next steps.

“There was interest in both fixed and floating,” added Mike Celata of BOEM, with more tending toward fixed development on the shallower shelf. Most of that is focused west of Lafayette, La., with “overlapping interest” by different developers, he said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

East Coast, West Coast: Very Different Offshore Wind Industries

May 1, 2020 — In order for many states to fulfill the goals they set to significantly reduce emissions or reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050, they will have to rely on a variety of renewable energy sources. Only by using a combination of wind, solar, battery storage, hydropower, electric and alternative fuel vehicles can states attain their carbon-reduction goals.

In a series of recent webinars, IPF Virtual, hosted by the Business Network for Offshore Wind, industry leaders congregated to discuss the current state of the offshore wind industry, as well as to offer their insights and research concerning various obstacles that need to be overcome in order for the U.S. offshore wind industry to reach its full potential.

Offshore wind is one of the resources that must be utilized to maximum capacity in the next 30 years if states on both the East and West Coasts hope to make the transition to carbon-neutrality. California, Washington, Maine, Rhode Island, Virginia, New Jersey and New York have all pledged to significantly reduce their carbon emissions, if not reach complete carbon-neutrality, by the 2050 milestone – a handful of ambitious states set 2045 as their target.

The potential for U.S. offshore wind energy is enormous. If utilized to capacity, the country’s shores have a power potential of 2,000 GW – almost double the nation’s current energy use. Besides creating jobs, harnessing the U.S.’ offshore wind will revitalize ports and coastal communities, improve national security and deliver vast amounts of clean energy to the country’s biggest population centers.

Read the full story at North American Wind Power