With leases for offshore wind energy going up for bidding in August off the east coast what will this mean for us working down in the bayou? Will some of our OSV operators from down here transition some boats up there? I’m sure wind farms will take way less time to come online than offshore oil does. I know that it’ll take a least a year or two but I’m curious to how many new jobs this will create for all of us.
Here’s the link
The linked article says the sale was scheduled for last August, 2014, not 2015.
I seem to recall hearing that they have permits to build a windfarm off the Vineyard. Whether it still makes economic sense and financing is available with energy prices (especially natural gas) being so low is another question. My guess is that this would be about a two boat project, so no significant number of jobs.
The only way wind energy will work if heavily subsidized. I am not willing to pay double per KW for wind energy. That was before the drop in oil prices.
Not going to happen anytime soon. Cape wind for example has nobody willing to buy the electricity at an inflated rate. Nobody wants to buy the power, so until that happens, they wont get built.
It is unlikely they would utilize OSVs anyway. The wind turbines will be in relatively shallow water and will be serviced by small vessels (think 1980’s crew boat size). They will most likely use barges to bring out the equipment and crane barges to install.
This is, of course, pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn’t go getting my hopes up.
If it happens at all, the platforms will be installed by European ‘windfarm’ vessels, designed to install the bases, towers, and generators and blades. You can find examples on the web. They’re very large ‘jackup’ ships, with jacking legs. There are none in the US fleet. And no company would build one here for spec work, so they have an exclusive with the Jones Act.
Most of the US contractors have been on a bid list and/or discussion since the early 2000’s. The cable installation would be a US vendor. Once the system is installed, its simple maintenance with a small specialized labor group. Cape Wind for example has agreements in place the local unions around Mass and works for political favor as well (union in blue states)… Believe all the work would be most if not all ‘closed’ shop.
However, since the price of oil (gas) has fallen, there isn’t much interest such an expensive market. Many of the players behind the wind projects were utility companies doing green in order to build dirty plants elsewhere. With cheap gas being available nearly every where, the market is fizzling fast Z (before oil fell).
[QUOTE=z-drive;155538]Not going to happen anytime soon. Cape wind for example has nobody willing to buy the electricity at an inflated rate. Nobody wants to buy the power, so until that happens, they wont get built.[/QUOTE]
I cannot believe that the far left Greenies are not volunteering to pay double for their electricity to make it happen. Let them put their money where their mouth is. What a bunch of hypocrites.
[QUOTE=txwooley;155594]It is unlikely they would utilize OSVs anyway. The wind turbines will be in relatively shallow water and will be serviced by small vessels (think 1980’s crew boat size). They will most likely use barges to bring out the equipment and crane barges to install.
This is, of course, pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn’t go getting my hopes up.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much. The cape wind, not that it will ever get built, but is all really shallow water, where a crane barge could spud-down, and it not, easy enough to drop a few anchors. No way they’re paying for any DP boat to come up here and do that.
Should Cape Wind become a reality, European installation vessels specializing in wind spar construction would be contracted through a US construction company to install the pods, jackets, turbines and blades. There are no US flag elevating wind farm ships nor is there a US corporation which would modify or really build a spec vessel for a single program, and thus an easy route around the Jones Act. There’s quite a few out there. It doesn’t take long to install the base, tower and generator system. Plus, the Dutch and Germans have installed hundreds already, they have the experience to sell the program safely to whichever state and federal agency needs to be sold. Lift boats and converted jackups aren’t in the mix.
A US cable installation contact (union) has been tentatively contracted a few years ago to provide the subsea tie ends, cable runs, and shore landings.
They plan/ned to build and use two small crew boats, designed for wind farm use, to transport the maintenance crews as needed.
They have agreements in place for the local unions (Ma) for their personnel be engaged through the construction process and to provide maintenance crews (small numbers).
The work is virtually all closed shop. MA is politically union based. And Cape Wind has pursued politics as best as they could to keep their program alive. And politics in Ma is by appealing to the union.
Even before the fall of oil prices, Cape Wind was not doing well. With gas becoming cheap and available enabling power generation to auger future costs, gas generation is less expensive, with far less permitting than wind power, and too, as others have mentioned, without state and federal subsidies, wind is about as expensive as electricity can get. And lastly, orginally the principals (utility companies down south) behind CW were into the wind program to enable them to get enviro credits to build fossil plants in the southern Midwest. . Might happen, but doesn’t look good with gas getting cheaper and more available by the day. And for all the stories told, aside from construction which would take not take as long as promoted, there won’t be much followup…just like oil…once oil is running the pipeline no one remembers the process for getting the oil to flow to the pipe. A small maintenance crew. As one suggested, they might contract a few boats to help with logistics, but would imagine they’d be placating the local unions as much as possible as use as much local support before looking elsewhere.
In all, its not a likely event to happen at all, off Nantucket or anywhere else on the US shelf, unless its federally mandated…
Maybe this will change the equation?: http://www.principlepowerinc.com/en/home
Existing US yards can build and existing OSVs can tow and install in “deep water”.
They can be placed far enough from the coast to where they cannot be heard by sensitive ears and hardly seen from shore to “pollute” the view for those rich people having their “cottages” on the coast.
Could this be the future for the East and West coast?
No need to re-invent the wheel. The technology already exists. Statoil has tested floating wind turbines and are now building the first floating wind farm off Scotland: http://www.statoil.com/en/TechnologyInnovation/NewEnergy/RenewablePowerProduction/Offshore/Pages/default.aspx
Since wind farms will be a reality in US waters sooner or later, will there be any vessels like this to service them?: https://gcaptain.com/photos-ulstein-launches-first-x-stern/?utm_source=gCaptain+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0398261d35-Mailchimp_RSS_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f50174ef03-0398261d35-169863069
Probably not. Somebody will probably fit cheap port-a-camps on the back of a mud boat, add four point mooring for positioning and a few Zodiac MOB boats to transfer personnel to the various wind turbines.
VIOLA!!! You have “State-of-the-Art” Wind Farm Support Vessel for deep water operation off the North East Coast.
why are you such a miserable anti American prick?
They’ll continue to use lift boats that are out if work in the oilfields until it’s economically justified to build dedicated construction vessels. We don’t build shit in the private sector unless there’s a reason to. Jeaux boss will be happy yo build a dedicated construction vessel as soon as he profitably can…
[QUOTE=z-drive;183855]why are you such a miserable anti American prick?
They’ll continue to use lift boats that are out if work in the oilfields until it’s economically justified to build dedicated construction vessels. We don’t build shit in the private sector unless there’s a reason to. Jeaux boss will be happy yo build a dedicated construction vessel as soon as he profitably can…[/QUOTE]
It is called sarcasm.
Why do you get your knickers in a twist whenever somebody foreign make a perceived negative comment about anything American, while you and others are not shy about doing the same??? Just asking.
because you’re truly not being sarcastic.
[QUOTE=z-drive;183857]because you’re truly not being sarcastic.[/QUOTE]
He’s just not being sarcastic the way Americans appreciate it. It doesn’t translate even among folks who are fluent in English as a second language. Ombugge, it is not coming across as sarcastic play. When I made those comments I did about the Edda Fortis, it rang true as sarcasm by describing the use of portable quarters on the Ebb Tide. Now you’re thinking, “I made the exact same joke!” But it wasn’t. Humor includes the humorist. Even though you think you were being sarcastic and humorous in the same fashion, you weren’t. Some things are only funny between insiders. Your comment sounded as superior in tone as the one to which I replied in making the Ebb Tide one. Not as funny.
cmon guys it’s the weekend!
[QUOTE=ombugge;183856]It is called sarcasm.
Why do you get your knickers in a twist whenever somebody foreign make a perceived negative comment about anything American, while you and others are not shy about doing the same??? Just asking.[/QUOTE]
It’s not funny when you are kicking someone that’s already down.
Couple of good links if you are feeling squirrelly. Unfortunately you can’t see the turbines from Dead Eye Dick’s.
[QUOTE=Jamesbrown;183858]He’s just not being sarcastic the way Americans appreciate it. It doesn’t translate even among folks who are fluent in English as a second language. Ombugge, it is not coming across as sarcastic play. When I made those comments I did about the Edda Fortis, it rang true as sarcasm by describing the use of portable quarters on the Ebb Tide. Now you’re thinking, “I made the exact same joke!” But it wasn’t. Humor includes the humorist. Even though you think you were being sarcastic and humorous in the same fashion, you weren’t. Some things are only funny between insiders. Your comment sounded as superior in tone as the one to which I replied in making the Ebb Tide one. Not as funny.
cmon guys it’s the weekend![/QUOTE]
You write something, it is sarcasm.
I write something similar, it is Anti-American???
yes, that about summarizes things