Offshore Wind Insider

NYSERDA's Doreen Harris previews the many ways in which NYSERDA, the Host Sponsor for the 2019 International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF), will be participating in this year's IPF.

Published April 3, 2019

My guest this episode is our own Liz Burdock, President and CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind. Our conversation covers both strengths and challenges facing the US offshore wind industry today.

We begin by looking at where the market stands today in terms of its potential capacity, current state commitments and the project development pipeline. We discuss recent lease activity, the entry of major international companies into the US market, what that says about investor confidence and what it may mean for the industry's growth. We obviously talk about the IPF, the Network's International Partnering Forum which is just a few weeks away in New York, as well as other activities the Network has planned later this year. Liz shares how the industry's rapid growth also poses significant supply chain challenges, and she wraps up by looking West and discussing the possibilities for offshore wind in the Pacific.

At least I thought she was wrapping up, but then she turns the tables on me and starts asking me questions. So, I share some of what I've seen and learned as someone who's still relatively new to the industry.

References:

• US Offshore Wind Market Update and Insights report
• 2019 International Partnering Forum

Recorded March 12, 2019. Published March 20, 2019.

Our guest this episode is Sven Utermöhlen COO for offshore wind globally and for European onshore wind at E.ON. E.ON may be new to U.S. offshore wind, but it's an established leader in the global offshore wind industry and already has a strong presence in U.S. onshore wind.

In our conversation Sven discusses E.ON 's global offshore wind experience, what's appealing about the U.S. market, and how E.ON plans to bring to bear its global offshore wind expertise here in the U.S. We cover some of the challenges in developing a supply chain, including the importance of location for manufacturing and port facilities, and the need to address transmission and grid access. We close with Sven sharing what success will look like for E.ON over the next few years.

Recorded January 18, 2019. Published February 25, 2019.

Our guest this episode is Gunnar Herzig, Managing Director of WFO, the World Forum Offshore Wind, a new organization dedicated to advancing offshore wind globally.

We start the conversation by covering what WFO is and why Gunnar saw the need for this new, globally-focused organization. We then explore the state of the global market. Gunnar shares his perspective on the role of the US market, how he sees US innovations in technology and finance contributing to advance the industry globally, and where he sees new opportunities geographically for offshore wind to expand. We wrap up the conversation by discussing what WFO has planned for 2019 including the first global offshore wind summit in Taipei this March.

Recorded January 4, 2019. Published January 21, 2019.

Our guests this episode are Walter Cruickshank and Jim Bennett, the Acting Director and the Program Manager for Offshore Renewables, respectively, at BOEM – the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is the agency responsible for all energy leases in federal waters.

Last week BOEM held an online auction for three wind energy areas south of Massachusetts. The auction was scheduled for one day but because there were so many rounds of bidding, BOEM had to extend the bidding into a second day. Not only that, the winning bid amounts blew away all of BOEM's previous offshore wind leases. So naturally we begin the conversation by discussing the auction results – why they are so impressive, what the details are and what's next for the winning bidders. Walter and Jim discuss how the industry has changed in just these past three years since these same lease areas were first offered at auction with no bidders, and then expand the conversation to talk about some of BOEM's other offshore wind activity around the country, and what milestones they anticipate in the coming months and years. We look ahead to next year's IPF at which BOEM always has a strong presence, and we close with Walter and Jim each reflecting on the state of the US offshore wind industry today and what it means for them personally having been involved in it from the very beginning.

Recorded December 17, 2018. Published December 18, 2018.

Our guest this episode is Alicia Barton, President and CEO of NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Alicia is an offshore wind veteran with over a decade of experience in the industry, and we begin the conversation with her describing her background and career path that led her to NYSERDA. We then talk about Governor Andrew Cuomo's vision for clean energy in New York and how offshore wind fits into it. We discuss some of the specific ways in which NYSERDA is moving the industry forward, including a Supply Chain Forum it is hosting on November 15. We discuss the need for stakeholder outreach, the importance of regional cooperation, and partnership with the federal government. We look ahead to next year's IPF for which NYSERDA is the host sponsor, and we close by looking at where things stand with NYSERDA's upcoming 800 MW offshore wind solicitation.

Show references include:

• New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan
• New York Offshore Wind Supplier Forum, Nov. 15, 2018
• Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium
• 2019 International Partnering Forum (IPF)

Recorded November 7, 2018. Published November 8, 2018.

Our topic for this episode is Technical Standards for offshore wind, and our guest is Walt Musial, Manager of Offshore Wind at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL.

Walt was in Washington, D.C. recently to chair a meeting of the Offshore Wind Technical Advisory Panel, which is where we caught up for this interview. We begin by discussing how Walt and NREL first started getting involved in offshore wind, and then we get into the history of offshore wind technical standards. We discuss the need for U.S.-specific standards and offshore-specific standards. Walt shares his vision for the U.S. Offshore Wind Standards Initiative, describes the process that's in place, and we close by discussing next steps and how people can get involved.

Show references include:

• Offshore Compliance Recommended Practices (OCRP) 2012
• 2019 International Partnering Forum (IPF)

Recorded October 17, 2018. Published October 18, 2018.

In this episode our guests are Paul Gallagher, Secretary of Fishermen's Energy, and Doug Copeland, regional project development manager for EDF Renewables. Paul and Doug are leading the development of the Nautilus Offshore Wind project planned for three miles out from Atlantic City.

In the interview we start by covering the history of this project from its beginning several years ago as the Fishermens Energy Atlantic City Windfarm to how and why EDF Renewables came into the picture last year. We discuss the critical role of politics in offshore wind development, the importance of projects like Nautilus for growing the industry and its supply chain, and what the next steps are for the project.

Recorded September 11, 2018. Published September 19, 2018.

Our guest for this episode is Joe Fiordaliso, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

It hasn't even been a full year since Governor Phil Murphy's administration took office, and already New Jersey has quickly vaulted to a leadership position in offshore wind. In our conversation, President Fiordaliso discusses what this year has been like for him so far and what the role of offshore wind is in helping the state meet its clean energy goals. Our conversation covers New Jersey's strategic planning process, its approach to regionalization, ORECs and more.

President Fiordaliso and I sat down for the interview on September 10. As an example of just how fast things are moving in New Jersey, just one week after our interview the BPU voted unanimously to issue a solicitation for 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind, America's largest single-state solicitation in history. The application window is already open. Bids are due by December 28th and the Board expects to act on the applications by July 1st of next year.

Recorded September 10, 2018. Published September 19, 2018.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Offshore Wind Insider, the new podcast from the Business Network for Offshore Wind. Our guest for this first episode is arguably the person most responsible for America's first offshore wind farm: Jeff Grybowski, Chief Executive Officer of Deepwater Wind.

In this interview we cover how Jeff first got involved in the offshore wind industry, and what the experience was like launching a new US industry with the Block Island Wind Farm. Block Island was just the first step for Deepwater Wind. We review the company's current project portfolio, and look ahead. Jeff shares his thoughts on how he sees the industry evolving, from technology to public policy to the supply chain and cost.

Recorded July 26, 2018. Published September 19, 2018.