Wind

Offshore turbine installation 'monster' rises for US Atlantic campaign

Jones Act-qualified Charybdis booked for Revolution, Sunrise and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind projects by Dominion Energy, Orsted and Eversource

Dominion's Charybdis wind turbine installation vessel
Dominion's Charybdis wind turbine installation vesselFoto: Dominion Energy

The US’ first Jones Act-qualified offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), the Charybdis, has been chartered by developers Dominion Energy, Orsted and Eversource for the two-campaign construction assignment in the Atlantic.

The $500m vessel, expected to be sea-ready by late 2023, is set to be deployed for the 704MW Revolution and 880MW Sunrise wind developments located in waters off Rhode Island and Massachusetts, before sailing down to Virginia to build the giant 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) in 2026.

“Offshore wind is critical to America's clean-energy future and the Charybdis plays a vital role in reaching the Biden Administration's ambitious goal of 30GW of offshore wind production by 2030,” said Bob Blue, Dominion Energy's chair, president and chief executive officer.

Eversource CEO Joe Nolan said: "This new, state-of-the-art American-made wind turbine installation vessel is a major milestone for the offshore wind industry at both the local and national level.

“As offshore wind continues to grow in Connecticut and throughout the US we are seeing the birth of a new, domestic supply chain that will create thousands of jobs across the country for decades to come,” he added.

David Hardy, CEO of Orsted Offshore North America, said: “A Jones Act-qualified installation vessel is a game-changer for the development of the US offshore wind industry," said . “This investment will enable us to unlock the economic benefits of offshore wind, not just for the Northeast, but for the Southern states as well.”

Being built by Keppel AmFELS at its Brownsville, Texas, shipyard using 14,000 tonnes of domestically-sourced steel, the 472ft-long Charybdis – named after a sea monster from Greek mythology – will be among the largest of its kind globally, able to handle turbines of 12MW and larger nameplates.

The vessel will be homeported in Hampton Roads, Virginia and manned by an all-American crew.

“New York leads the nation with five active offshore wind developments, including the Sunrise Wind project, and the chartering of this historic vessel will play a critical role in not only achieving New York's ambitious offshore wind energy goals, but our larger efforts to fully combat climate change and drive a robust, clean energy economy that benefits all,” said New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

Orsted and Eversource have committed nearly $100m to a public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut to “revitalize” the port facility at the State Pier in New London.

The US market-gap for wind turbine installation vessels is in the cross-hairs of various contractors, including Eneti, which recently announced plans for the flagship in a series of newbuilds, while offshore oil & gas veteran Friede & Goldman, which recently unveiled a so-called feeder solution that would get around the need to use giant installation vessels exclusively to build the first wave of projects in American waters.
The pinchpoint isn’t impacting the US alone, with the fast-track scale-up of offshore wind turbines to the supersize 15MW models globally now “outpacing” construction of the installation fleet needed to install them, according to recent report from IHS Markit.
(Copyright)
Published 2 June 2021, 12:03Updated 2 June 2021, 13:53
USUS AtlanticDominion EnergyOrstedEversource Energy