The Case for Building a U.S. Offshore Wind Vessel + Other Opportunities for the U.S. O&G Sector in Offshore Wind

What will it take to build a Jones Act-compliant offshore wind vessel in the U.S.? Can such a vessel help reduce the cost of offshore wind development? As the U.S. offshore wind market grows, so do the opportunities and the business case for building a U.S. ship that can meet the heavy-lift needs of the industry.

Please join us in this one-hour webinar on the soon-to-be-released “Vessel Study” by naval architect, GustoMSC. Brian Cheater from GustoMSC will discuss the study commissioned by the Northeast Multi-State Offshore Wind group. Because of the Jones Act, marine transportation of goods in U.S. waters must be undertaken with U.S.-flagged ships. The U.S. offshore wind industry needs US-flagged heavy-lift vessels to efficiently build offshore wind farms. Brian will discuss the technical requirements and the design, followed by the business case required to support construction of such a vessel.

The opportunity to construct a U.S. heavy-lift vessel presents a unique opportunity for the U.S. O&G sector to engage in the offshore wind power sector. But there are many other synergies between the oil and gas sector and the offshore wind sector. Jennifer Runyon from PennWell will introduce Brian and highlight some of the new commercial opportunities for the O&G sector, including shipbuilding, substructures, and a strong national supply-chain and workforce. As the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry gets its sea legs, there are many lessons learned from the O&G sector’s involvement in Europe’s offshore wind development and even from the first offshore wind project in the US. Jenn will also introduce PennWell’s upcoming Offshore Wind Executive Summit in Houston from August 9-10 that will bring the two industries together.

Panelists:

• Jennifer Runyon, Chief Editor, Renewable Energy World
• Brian Cheater, Technical Director – Naval Architecture, GustoMSC US, Inc.
• Val Stori, Project Director, Clean Energy Group

This webinar is presented by Clean Energy Group for the Northeast Wind Resource Center (NWRC).