Crowley and Morgan Stanley Launch JV to Develop Wind Port Infrastructure

Crowley is involved with the Salem redevelopment project and looks to use the new JV with Morgan Stanley to redevelop existing facilities to support the offshore wind energy sector (Crowley)

PUBLISHED AUG 24, 2023 8:29 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Crowley is forming a new partnership with global financial services powerhouse Morgan Stanely as they look to further realize the emerging infrastructure opportunities to support the U.S. offshore wind energy business. The companies announced the formation of a new joint venture that will focus on accelerating long-term contracted growth infrastructure opportunities.

To be known as Crowley Wind Services Holdings, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), the private infrastructure investment platform within the advisory firm, will hold a majority stake in the joint venture. Crowley will operate the business which will focus on repurposing and operating existing U.S. port facilities and leasing them under long-term contracts to offshore wind developers.

The companies highlighted the critical role the onshore terminals are planning in the growth of the offshore wind energy sector and the strong demand that will be created as the U.S. proceeds toward its target of 30 GW by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. They highlight that the terminal business will support the manufacturing, assembly, and storage of wind farm components as well as provide developers with maritime services such as Jones Act-compliant feedering vessels to transport components from ports to offshore wind installations. 

“We believe port infrastructure is essential to the build-out and long-term maintenance of offshore wind projects,” said Daniel Sailors, Managing Director, MSIP. “We are excited to partner with Crowley to provide the foundational infrastructure that will enable the development of this important industry.”

The joint venture looks to build off Crowley’s existing business expertise in end-to-end maritime and logistics capabilities using Morgan Stanley’s financial strength and access to capital.

Crowley has already entered into the wind port business, including port operations and terminaling, feedering vessels and operations, and project management. Through a public-private partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Center and the City of Salem, Massachusetts, Crowley plans to begin construction this fall on the Salem Wind Services Terminal, which will support the development and operation of offshore wind lease areas off the northeast U.S. coast. The project calls for repurposing an old power plant and parts of the space is already being used to support the first offshore wind farms being built near Martha’s Vineyard.

In addition, Crowley is pursuing the development of a U.S. West Coast terminal in Eureka, California, in a public-private partnership. Crowley also has a right-of-first-refusal agreement to lease and potentially develop a wind services terminal at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. 

World's Largest Floating Offshore Wind Farm Officially Opened

Hywind Tampen located in the North Sea is the largest floating offshore wind farm (Ole Jørgen Bratland photo courtesy of Equinor)

PUBLISHED AUG 23, 2023 8:20 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Norway marked the official dedication of the Hywind Tampen wind farm with a ceremony attended by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on the Gullfaks C platform in the North Sea. Billed as the world’s largest floating wind farm the project is unique in that it is being used to power mature offshore oil production while it is also seen as a further proof of concept project to support the development of floating wind turbines.

The wind farm was developed by Equinor with the company noting it took five years for the project to go from the drawing board to completion. The wind farm, which generated its first power in November 2022, consists of 11 wind turbines. Hywind Tampen has a system capacity of 88 MW and is expected to cover about 35 percent of the annual need for electricity on the five platforms Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B, and C.

The wind farm is located nearly 90 miles from shore. At a water depth ranging between approximately 850 and 980 feet, Hywind Tampen will be exposed to some of the harshest offshore conditions. The field lines to the northwest of the city of Bergen, Norway.

 

Gullfaks in the North Sea with Hywind Tampen in the background (Ole Jørgen Bratland photo courtesy of Equinor)

 

The company highlighted that 40 years ago Gullfaks was Equinor's major qualifying test in field development on the Norwegian continental shelf.  Gullfaks along with Snorre have now become the first oil and gas fields in the world to receive power from offshore wind, reducing CO2 emissions from their operations.

Development of the project was further complicated by the pandemic. Equinor reports they encountered COVID-related costs, delayed deliveries, and quality issues with some deliveries which also resulted in follow-up issues. They also had to manage increased market prices, currency exchange effects, and other challenges. Despite that, the project is fully operational as of August 2023.

They expect the larger size and challenging location of Hywind Tampen will contribute to the understanding and future development of floating wind. They note that already the project was able to reduce the cost of installed MW by approximately 35 percent compared to the first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland. 

Enova, a state enterprise owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment launched in 2001 to promote environmentally friendly energy consumption and production provided approximately $217 million toward the development of Hywind Tampen. In addition, the Norwegian Business Sector's NoX fund supported the project with just over $50 million to stimulate technology development within offshore wind power and emission reductions.

Hywind Tampen is the first offshore wind farm in Norway, demonstrating the opportunities for renewable power production on the Norwegian continental shelf.

 

 His Majesty Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre making the ceremonial connect August 23, 2023 (Ole Jørgen Bratland photo courtesy of Equinor)

U.S. Approves Revolution Wind to Become Fourth Large, Offshore Wind Farm

Revolution Wind becomes the fourth large offshore widn farm to complete the U.S. review process (Orsted)

PUBLISHED AUG 22, 2023 4:53 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Department of the Interior today announced its approval of the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm project which will provide energy to both Connecticut and Massachusetts. This is the Department’s fourth approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project as the U.S. offshore wind energy industry continues to gain momentum.

Located about 15 nautical miles southeast of Rhode Island and about 12 nautical miles from the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Revolution Wind will have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes. The project will split its power providing about 400 MW to Rhode Island and the remaining 304 MW to Connecticut. In the final form approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the project will consist of 65 wind turbines and two offshore substations.

The project is being developed in a partnership between Ørsted and Eversource. The companies acknowledged the milestone for the project saying they remain on track to begin onshore construction activities in the coming weeks. Offshore construction is scheduled to ramp up in 2024 with the project expected to be operational in 2025.

“Companies have quadrupled their U.S. offshore wind investments to over $20 billion, representing thousands of good-paying union jobs,” said Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, highlighting the release of BOEM’s record of decision as the next major step in the industry. “Today’s approval of a fourth major offshore wind project is our latest permitting milestone that will help strengthen America’s energy security, make our power grid more reliable, lower energy costs, and cut dangerous climate pollution.”

Construction on the first two large offshore wind farms is already underway in Massachusetts and New York. Avangrid which is leading the development of Vineyard Wind 1 which will be near Revolution Wind highlights that the first nacelles and wind turbine blades have now arrived at the staging facility in Massachusetts. The first two projects, Vineyard and South Fork, are targeting completion before the end of the year and BOEM previously also approved the Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey.

BOEM highlights that the review process for Revolution Wind included considering the final Environmental Impact Statement alternatives, including public comments received. The Department approved Revolution Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) under its preferred Alternative G identified and analyzed in the EIS. This preferred alternative will meet energy needs by installing fewer wind turbines than originally proposed by the developer to reduce impacts to visual resources, benthic habitat, and ocean co-users. Alternative G includes up to 79 possible locations for the installation of 65 wind turbines and two offshore substations within the lease area. The Record of Decision is published on BOEM’s website.

The Record of Decision includes measures aimed at avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating the potential impacts that may result from the construction and operation of the project. Among them, Revolution Wind has committed to establishing fishery mitigation funds to compensate losses directly arising from the project incurred by recreational and commercial fisheries in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and to creating a direct compensation program to reimburse lost revenues for fisheries from other states. Additionally, Revolution Wind has committed to measures such as vessel speed restrictions and construction clearance zones to reduce the potential for impacts to protected species, such as marine mammals, sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon.

“Together with industry, labor, and partners from coast to coast, we are building an entirely new industry off the east and west and Gulf coasts,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

The Biden administration highlights that companies have announced 18 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain. Ørsted and Eversource, for example, have committed to more than $100 million of direct investment to the State Pier redevelopment project in the Port of New London, Connecticut to create a marine terminal that is being used for staging and assembly. They have already also ordered five crew transfer vessels that will be built by Blount Boats and Senesco Marine both in Rhode Island.

BOEM reports it remains on track to complete reviews of at least 16 offshore wind project plans by 2025, representing more than 27 gigawatts of energy.