Page 14: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2021)

O? shore Wind www.scaniausa.com/quadpower

Favorable Offshore Winds

As part of his Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (EO 14008)—issued on the ? rst day he took of? ce—President Biden made signi? cant com- mitments to renewable energy. The goal is to have net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

By Joan M. Bondareff, Blank Rome LLP ormer Secretary of State John Kerry was appointed wind and provide clean energy to 400,000 homes and busi- as the international climate envoy, and former En- nesses once it is operational in 2023. Vineyard Wind has com- vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator mitted to using the Port of New Bedford, MA, as its staging

FGina McCarthy was designated as the domestic cli- area. On March 8, 2021, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Man- mate czar. They have their work cut out for them, as the goal agement (BOEM) in the Department of the Interior issued the of simply meeting the present Paris Climate Agreement goals ? nal EIS for Vineyard Wind, endorsing the preferred alterna- may not reduce GHG emissions to the required levels. tive of an east-west, north-south con? guration of no more than

Offshore wind will be a critical part of reaching the new 84 wind turbines with one nautical mile spacing between the domestic and international climate goals. President Biden rec- wind platforms, which is consistent with the Coast Guard’s ognizes this fact in the EO by promising to double offshore recommendations. (See Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind En- wind by 2030. Developers also recognize the connection by ergy Project Final EIS.). A ? nal permit is expected to follow touting reductions in GHG emissions with each project. Right shortly thereafter. now, the United States is poised to have 30GW of offshore This is a critical step because it not only restarts a project wind by 2030. From a simplistic point of view, doubling the that the prior administration delayed for too long, but it will present total means 60GW of offshore wind. But playing the also break the logjam for other pending projects by signaling numbers game for this goal is too simplistic. For the United the Biden administration’s support for offshore wind. At pres-

States to realistically build 60GW of offshore wind, the states, ent, BOEM has approved 10 Site Assessment Plans (SAPs) private sector, and federal government must work together to and has 10 Construction and Operations Plans (COPs) under take the necessary steps to meet and exceed this extraordinary review—with more anticipated. commitment. A ? rst step was taken with the issuance of the Another major project pending with BOEM is the Coastal ? nal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vineyard Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project developed by Do-

Wind Project, discussed below. See bit.ly/3frFrea minion Virginia Energy. This project will include 188 Siemens

This article addresses what role the maritime industry can Gamesa turbines and will supply 2.6 GW of clean energy to play in this vital new offshore wind industry. 800,000 Virginia homes and businesses when fully operational in 2026. The commercial CVOW project follows on the two-

Vineyard Wind Receives Final EIS Approval, turbine 12 MW research project—also called CVOW—that is

BOEM Permitting Restarted the ? rst offshore wind farm to become operational in federal

The ? rst step that the Biden administration made to double waters in 2020. (Deepwater Wind off Block Island, RI, is the offshore wind was to restart the National Environmental Pol- ? rst in state waters.) Dominion has also established a consor- icy Act (NEPA) process for the mega-offshore wind project tium to build the ? rst Jones Act-compliant turbine installation known as Vineyard Wind, located off the coast of Martha’s vessel (TIV), called “Charybdis,” currently under construc-

Vineyard, MA, and expected to produce 800 MW of offshore tion in the Keppel Yard in Brownsville, TX. 14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • April 2021

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