Offshore Wind Power USA

A 54GW Opportunity by 2030

The 2011 event saw huge growth, with over 250 attendees – 55%+ of these at CxO level, over 13 countries represented, a faculty of over 40 high-level speakers, including 10 key offshore wind developer presentations and an address from Michael Bromwich, Director, BOEMRE.  Offshore Wind Power 2011 was the place to be for those serious about offshore wind power generation in North America.

Testimonials from Offshore Wind Power Congress 2011, 1-2 February 2011, Boston, MA:

‘This year's conference was outstanding and gave attendees the most up to date information on the emerging U.S. offshore wind industry, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities before it.  A must-attend event for anyone interested in ocean based renewable energy.  I highly recommend it’ (PSEG Global and Garden State Offshore Energy)

‘Great variety of attendees.  Excellent networking opportunities.  Impressive list of government presenters.  Congratulations!’ (Offshore Wind Development Coalition)

‘Congratulations for running an excellent conference’ (Rabobank)

‘ Worth the trip for sure!’ (Windemuller Electric)

‘Excellent event and a great opportunity to meet industry leaders’ (ARCADIS)

‘Good mix of people.  Great event!’ (Epsilon Associates)

‘Well worth attending.  Excellent quality of attendees’ (Proserv)

‘A diverse crowd of key industry players’ (Vestas)

‘Thank you for putting this great event together’ (ALSTOM)

Green Power Conferences 2nd annual Offshore Wind Power 2011 Congress was one of great optimism for the emerging  offshore wind industry in North America.  The high number of attendees reflected the growing focus on offshore wind as a serious source of power for North America, heightened the previous week by President Obama announcing in his State of the Union address a new goal of 80 percent of America’s electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035.  Offshore wind energy projects are already making steady progress along the East Coast and in the Great Lakes with private developers proposing several offshore projects in waters off each of these four states (New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware) with at least five in New Jersey alone. Those states, along with Massachusetts and Rhode Island, are the furthest along in promotion of an emerging US offshore wind industry.

At Offshore Wind Power 2011, Michael Bromwich, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), reiterated the federal agency's commitment to offshore wind power and laid out the agency’s new framework as well as providing updates on measures already under way to streamline development of offshore wind.  BOEMRE, itself a replacement for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, will be split into two new, independent agencies:  the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.  Director Bromwich also provided attendees with a glimpse into the agency's priority list regarding offshore leases, issuing requests for interest (RFIs) for Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts and anticipating similar RFIs for New Jersey, Virginia and Rhode Island in the near future and adding North Carolina later this year. 

Director Bromwich provided welcome news relating to the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's "Smart from the Start" initiative, which was announced last November, to accelerate the current seven-year permitting process and help create responsible offshore wind development.  Smart from the Start allows for faster review of the National Environmental Policy Act and the agency would also allow developers to begin the developmental process using environmental assessments (EAs), rather than environmental impact statement (EIS), which has been the standard.  During the Q&A session, Jim Lanard, President of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, said such a move could shave "one or two years from a project." BOEMRE will continue its outreach in the Mid-Atlantic states, explaining that the agency has offices in nine of the 13 Atlantic Coast states and has had numerous meetings with an offshore wind task force meant to promote development. He says efforts are under way to develop a similar task force in Oregon later this year.

While utilities must play a key role in developing the offshore wind energy industry in the United States, the industry itself must unite, which will require co-ordination by developers, utilities and policymakers, according to Tom King, President, National Grid USA and Jim Gordon, President, Cape Wind Associates.  The right policy should include targets on both energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as smart grid technology for connectivity and intelligence of the grid.  As for the Cape Wind project, Gordon said he is hopeful construction can begin near the end of the year and believes there is great potential ahead for offshore wind energy in the US.  Jim Gordon sees Cape Wind as a long term hedge against volatile and rising fuel costs.  There is still a hesitancy within the utility industry for offshore wind, however, the utility industry is a critical player to move finance and investment forward in the industry and create a commercial market. 
Daniel Cohen, President, Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey said his company is "very far along" with its project, which is within state waters and consists of six turbines off the coast of Atlantic City. A second phase of that project would have an output of 350 MW, with turbines 10 to 12 miles off Atlantic City in federal waters.  Key aims of Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey are to make offshore wind ‘bankable’ and for their wind project to ‘jump start’ the offshore wind industry in the US.

Transmission could be a key to the development of offshore wind development in the United States, with the right transmission policies and strategies critical to both lowering cost and getting the power to market.   Robert Mitchell, CEO, Trans-Elect said that if a backbone transmission project attracts manufacturing to the United States, there would be a 20% reduction in the cost of offshore wind.  Trans-Elect, alongside investors Google, Good Energies and Marubeni Corp is proposing to build a $5 billion underwater transmission line carrying offshore wind generation along the mid-Atlantic coast. There are two choices as to how to bring offshore wind to shore;  either wind developers will have to build their own lines independently or a backbone transmission system can get built.  Will developers chose to build their own lines?  If the Atlantic Wind Connection is built, it would enable 6,600 MW of offshore wind to be developed over the next 10 years, which would mean a lot of volume and a large industry that could create economies of scale.  The onshore wind transmission system is not designed for 54GW of offshore wind and the key question as to ‘who pays’ has yet to be answered.

Offshore Wind Power 2012 provides the best platform for the industry’s stakeholders to shape the market and continue growth in this sector.  You cannot afford to miss out in 2012.