Supporting & Complementary Assets/Infrastructure

The U.S. Jones Act Compliant Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessel Study examines the functional requirements and costs of constructing purpose-built vessels that would comply with the U.S. Jones Act and meet the needs of the U.S. offshore wind industry. The Jones Act requires any vessel transporting cargo between U.S. ports, or between U.S. ports and offshore facilities, be built and flagged in the U.S. The study presents designs for two Jones Act compliant vessel options: a wind turbine installation vessel and a feeder barge. Estimating packages were sent to multiple U.S. shipyards and indicative prices of $222 million for the wind turbine installation vessel and $87 million for feeder barge were received. Using the cost data, a business model was created that showed 10-years of work, or a pipeline of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity (roughly equivalent to the expected low regional offshore wind deployment trajectory), would provide the owner of a wind turbine installation vessel with a reasonable rate of return.

A press release reported that: "The Baker-Polito Administration today signed a Letter of Intent with DONG Energy, Deepwater Wind and OffshoreMW to lease the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging and deployment location for future wind projects. The agreement with the developers, who hold leases in the federally identified offshore wind energy development areas located 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, builds upon the Commonwealth’s commitment to a diverse energy portfolio and position as a national leader in offshore wind, and will strengthen the state’s clean energy economy." 

This document is on the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center website at http://www.masscec.com/about-masscec/news/baker-polito-administration-offshore-wind-developers-announce-agreement-new.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) last week awarded Ramboll Environ and team partners a contract to assess untapped offshore wind energy potential within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Offshore Wind Ports & Infrastructure Assessment encompasses a series of tasks, key among them an evaluation of underdeveloped waterfront sites in Massachusetts that could potentially be acquired and developed through private investment to support both near-term and long-term offshore wind activities. 

The purpose is to assess the estimated economic impact of a 40 MW demonstration offshore wind farm off South Carolina, including electric rate impacts.

Baltimore County has applied for a $26 million federal grant to support infrastructure upgrades at the former Sparrows Point shipyard to accommodate assembly, fabrication and shipping for the offshore wind industry. 

Deepwater Wind proposes to complement its Long Island South Fork wind farm with two battery energy storage facilities. Construction on Deepwater ONE - South Fork is expected to begin in 2019, with commercial operations by 2022.

Appendix U contains a navigational risk assessment of potential risks to navigation safety as a result of the construction, installation, operation, and placement of the Block Island Wind Farm and Block Island Transmission System.

Appendix T contains an analysis of potential shadow flicker impacts of the Block Island Wind Farm.

Appendix S-2 contains a visual impact assessment for the above-ground components of the Block Island Transmission System (BITS), within a 0.5-mile radius around each of the proposed substation sites and their associated overhead electric lines.