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The Empire State Supply Chain in Action 

Newcomers

As the first offshore wind projects are established in the U.S., so too are the first American supply chains for turbine design, manufacturing, assembly, and construction.  

A growing network of companies are working together to ensure this new clean energy industry is built by and for America. As a result, thousands of jobs are being created, communities are experiencing economic revivals, and our country’s history of skilled manufacturing is taking a much-needed step forward. 

In New York, one such story begins with steel and ends on the banks of the Hudson River. 

Turbines at Ørsted’s South Fork Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. 

Procured from states like Pennsylvania and Kentucky, steel and other raw materials are the building blocks for turbines that will generate clean, renewable energy for millions of homes and businesses for the next 30-plus years. To make this possible, U.S. manufacturers and fabricators have been mobilized to fill the supply chain, utilizing their expertise and refining their processes to suit this new market. Each company also brings its own far-reaching network, from services like safety equipment and waste removal, to local hotels and restaurants accommodating visitors or out-of-state workers. Such downstream jobs and economic impacts are hard to quantify. They are a quiet addition to the hundreds of more clearly defined coastal manufacturing and construction jobs born from offshore wind projects. Ultimately, this particular network comes together at the Port of Coeymans, where local Tier 1 supplier for secondary steel, Riggs Distler, has again stood up operations, moving with the industry and serving as the nexus between suppliers and Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind (924 MW) project. 

Union workers with Riggs Distler pour concrete and weld steel at the Port of Coeymans, building components for Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind project.

Building these components from start to finish in the U.S. is no easy feat — especially considering the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project was just completed this year. To be successful has required commitment from industry, partnership with government, and engagement with local communities. And perhaps above all, patience.  

The time and investments have been worth it, supply chain companies told Oceantic Network this summer as part of the U.S. Offshore Wind Jobs Tour. Along the way, our organization captured stories from welding supervisors, C-suite executives, union workers, engineers, and others about how the influx of offshore wind-related work has impacted their jobs, businesses, and neighborhoods. We’ve compiled those takeaways in the video and article below, following the supply chain through New York as it makes its way from America’s heartland, east to the Hudson River, and out to Sunrise Wind 30 miles off the coast Montauk Point, New York. 

 

 

A Clean Energy ‘Turnaround’

Our story begins in the small, former oil town of Wellsville, New York — located over 300 miles from the Atlantic Coast — at LJUNGSTRÖM’s steel fabrication facility.  

For more than 100 years the company has been a major employer for the region, selling steel components to coal-fired power plants. But when the company’s leadership foresaw a decline in their long-held market, LJUNGSTRÖM began investigating opportunities in the renewable energy sector, prompting a business transition and $15 million in facility investments over the last four years. 

New York-based steel fabricator LJUNGSTRÖM has built components for Ørsted’s South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and now Sunrise Wind projects.

Now, several years into fulfilling offshore wind contracts, the company has expanded its payroll by more than 87% for a total of roughly 375 employees. Many of the facility’s workers are skilled welders supporting the building of advanced foundation components for offshore wind, which include steel anode cages, monopile doors that will be used to access the inside of turbines via a platform, and supported internal platforms (SIPs) that contain many of the electrical components inside the turbine’s monopile. Others specialize in painting and coating operations, which require a climate-controlled room added as part of the recent facility investment. LJUNGSTRÖM provides training such as reskilling former automotive painters and teaching new processes such as flux-core or pulse welding. Furthermore, to ensure the next generation enters the workforce with these skills, the company has helped revamp relevant curriculums at local colleges, trade programs, and grade schools. The economic benefits of LJUNGSTRÖM’s offshore wind contracts have spilled into the town itself, increasing business at local restaurants and hotels. And other states where the company’s up-and-downstream suppliers reside also feel the benefits. LJUNGSTRÖM sources its steel from states including Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas, Michigan, and New York, and other supplies from companies in Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, New Jersey, and Florida. 

Prior to working on Sunrise Wind, LJUNGSTRÖM cut its teeth making components for Ørsted’s South Fork Wind (132 MW) and Revolution Wind (704 MW) projects. In total, the company has built and shipped about 150 anode cages to ports in Rhode Island and New York, where they await additional assembly and installation. Fabrication of the SIPs — highly complex, 2,000-plus piece components and the first of their kind to be made in the U.S. — began in 2023 and will continue into 2025. 

LJUNGSTRÖM employees Harol Weaver, Section Leader for Offshore Wind (left), and Larry Rogers, Weld Shop Supervisor (right), have both observed positive economic impacts in the town of Wellsville since the company began doing offshore wind work. Restaurants are busy and hotels are full, Weaver added. 

“Offshore wind requires a big space with a lot of administrative staff to keep on top of the requirements,” said Michael Zakel, LJUNGSTRÖM’s Custom Manufacturing Solutions Director. “To get involved, you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses as an organization.” 

Today, about 50% of the company’s overall business is offshore wind contracts, and Zakel credits the shift with LJUNGSTRÖM’s “turnaround.” The company is hopeful the next round of state-run offshore wind procurements will lead to more work. 

“Ørsted has been our first offshore wind customer, but they won’t be our last,” said Jude Auman, Business Development Manager at the company. 

 

 

From Rust Belt to ‘Green Belt’

While companies like LJUNGSTRÖM pivoted to offshore wind, others set up operations in New York with the express purpose of serving the new industry. 

Technostrobe, which is best known for manufacturing obstruction lights for tall towers, opened its first U.S. operations in Albany, New York with “a 100% focus on offshore wind,” said Technostrobe Offshore Solutions (TOS) Executive Vice President Jeff Grabner. 

The company with offices in Europe and Canada jumped at the opportunity to move into the U.S. offshore wind market. Within two years, they outgrew their first space and expanded into a 30,000-square-foot facility, shared with another offshore wind supplier, Lichtgitter USA. The international company produces industrial floor coverings and fiberglass components, among other parts, and Lichtgitter’s General Manager in Albany, Tobias Hornhues, confirmed the manufacturer has also seen “massive growth” in the U.S. market. 

Today, TOS has eight associates employed in Albany receiving raw goods, handling inventory, assembling components, and trucking them to the Port of Coeymans for final construction. The company uses an IKEA-style approach to packaging the electrical, lights, railings and other components in a color-coded kit for easy assembly at the port. This helps increase efficiency on the job site and reduce labor costs. 

Employees at Technostrobe provide a behind-the-scenes look at their work preparing and assembling components that will be shipped to the Port of Coeymans and received by workers there for final assembly. 

When the company first began working in the U.S., Grabner said it had to lean on European expertise. But with time, experience, and local engagement, TOS has built a supply chain that is over 60% domestic and growing. Goods have been sourced from within New York, Connecticut, and states in the Midwest where Grabner said the company is working to help turn “a rust belt into a green belt.” It’s important work the company has taken on to help identify, cultivate, and develop the U.S. supply chain. By the end of 2024, TOS will have completed products for more than 250 wind turbine generators since beginning operations in February 2022.  

“For this industry to succeed, components need to be made, purchased, and sold in the U.S.,” Grabner said. “We’re sharing our story to show the design, engineering, and manufacturing muscle power we already have right here.” 

Similar to TOS, another company in the local supply chain, BV Steel Technology, also moved into the region after seeing the great potential of the Albany-area supplier hub. BV Steel’s German parent company set up a small manufacturing operation in Queensbury, New York in 2021.  

Under the vision of President Abdul Khail, the company has provided engineering work, as well as embedded parts for turbine transition pieces, SIPs, internal components, and ladder systems for projects including South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and Sunrise Wind.  

Caption: Workers at BV Steel Technology in Queensbury, New York. (Credit: BV Steel Technology) 

While companies in the New York offshore wind supply chain await the state’s next solicitation, BV Steel has found work in related fields, such as maritime solutions, components for substations, and products for industries such as solar and energy storage. Much of this new work was born out of connections made through the offshore wind industry, notably at Oceantic Network’s annual International Partnering Forum (IPF). 

“IPF has been a great portal to get to know other people,” Khail said. “It’s where we keep pushing each other, and where you take the temperature of the industry.” 

From BV Steel’s 11,000-square-foot facility, Khail said he and his two employees can be “quick on our feet” and pivot to respond to the new contracts. However, he’d ultimately like to see the pipeline of direct offshore wind work increase so that he can continue to expand the company’s operations in New York. If new contracts do come their way, Khail said he could grow the facility’s employee count and footprint. 

Local Labor Yields Regional Benefits

LJUNGSTRÖM, TOS, Lichtgitter, and BV Steel all represent spokes of the same wheel — New York companies utilizing their unique expertise and working together as a homegrown supply chain to deliver thousands of critical components to one central point, the Port of Coeymans.  

At the port, parts are received by Riggs Distler, a Centuri company, who is one of the largest union utility, mechanical, and electrical contractors in the U.S. Headquartered in New Jersey with offices in New York and beyond, Riggs Distler serves as a Tier 1 supplier for secondary steel and uses a 100% union workforce to complete the advanced foundation components started by LJUNGSTRÖM and added to by other companies in the New York supply chain. Riggs Distler workers are responsible for finalizing the steel anode cages, SIPs, and concrete platforms that attach to the monopiles and allow technicians to work inside the turbines via the monopile doors made by LJUNGSTRÖM.  

Riggs Distler’s union workers construct and assemble concrete platforms (top left), steel anode cages (bottom left), and supported internal platforms, or SIPs (right). 

Since creating an offshore wind division in 2021, Riggs Distler and its union workforce have constructed advanced foundation components for three Ørsted projects, South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and now Sunrise Wind. Components for the first two projects were handled by a team of roughly 145 employees at ProvPort in Rhode Island. In New York, the company has employed over 125 union craft and 20 staff workers at the Port of Coeymans to complete 84 iterations of each of the three components — one for each turbine in the 924 MW project. 

“As we mobilize to different project locations in various states, we have made significant efforts to localize our supply chain to the communities we serve,” said Chris Johnston, VP of Offshore Wind for Riggs Distler, who noted examples such as equipment rentals, tooling, consumables, and engineering support. “This not only benefits our downstream suppliers, but also brings additional economic benefits to the communities we serve.” 

Construction activity at the Port of Coeymans began in spring 2023 and has involved bringing on team members from the following unions; Carpenter LU 291, IBEW LU 236, Ironworkers LU 12, Laborers LU 190, Operating Engineers LU 158, and OPCMIA- LU 780 Cement Masons. In many cases, the union workers are hired locally so that, for example, New York ironworkers are welding anode cages in their home state for turbines that will be installed in a project designed to power their state’s homes and businesses. It’s also work that is often quite different from what many long-time union members are accustomed to, providing new skills and experiences that contribute to personal and professional growth and adaptability. Offshore wind demands incredibly high specifications that several individuals described as “one level below aerospace.” 

Riggs Distler has also been contracted to complete other types of offshore wind-related work including upgrading four substations in Rhode Island and reconstructing a 13.5-mile 115kV energized line in the state — two projects that will ensure the state can support the new energy to be generated by Revolution Wind. Other companies have taken note of Riggs Distler’s growing expertise. Earlier this year, Vineyard Offshore’s bid included the company as the fabricator and assembler of secondary steel components for its Vineyard Wind 2 project that was recently selected by Massachusetts for further negotiations. The work, expected to take place at ProvPort, could support 150 jobs. Riggs Distler is also the official onshore substation contractor for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores (~2,800 MW) offshore wind project. 

In its role as a local Tier 1 supplier for secondary steel, Riggs Distler has served as the nexus between suppliers and the offshore wind projects themselves. 

Combined, this work showcases how Riggs Distler seized the opportunity to lead the construction of offshore wind in America, and in partnership with developers such as Ørsted, has helped ensure our new clean energy industry capitalizes on the skilled workers and companies already present here. Bolstered by local content requirements the state incorporated into the agreements signed with developers, New York businesses, communities, and individuals have capitalized on the economic benefits of offshore wind development. Now, it’s up to all of us to keep driving the train forward with new projects, contracts, and opportunities to continue growing our U.S. offshore wind supply chain. 

It’s not hard to see, especially looking at New York, that offshore wind is working — and so is America.

Learn more at oceantic.org/jobstour 

You cannot have offshore wind without ports. This simple fact has already launched $4 billion in new investments into waterfront cities up and down the East Coast, putting thousands of Americans to work building enormous civil infrastructure projects. For decades to come, these towns will serve as bustling operations hubs with vessels and maintenance crews offering communities a new lifeblood of commerce and opportunity. Offshore wind’s U.S. port needs are enormous, and the work completed to date is just a fraction of what the nation will inevitably build to support the new industry.

Oceantic Network has identified 25 U.S. ports currently involved in offshore wind or undergoing development to support the industry, with dozens more rumored or planned. These range from $20 million projects, like smaller Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) operations and maintenance (O&M) ports and modest manufacturing quays, to enormous all-in Marshalling & Assembly plus O&M developments like Equinor’s $861 million South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT). The Network, using closely tracked data from the U.S. offshore wind market, conservatively estimates that the current public and private investment into offshore wind ports stands at $4.2 billion.

Those projects have put Americans to work in short-term construction jobs and long-term operations activities.

As of July, the U.S. had six currently operating offshore wind ports including New Bedford Commerce Terminal, MA; Foss Marine Terminal in New Bedford, MA; New London State Pier, CT; Port of Providence, RI (ProvPort); Port of Davisville, RI and Portsmouth Marine Terminal, VA. According to public reports, their collective construction has supported at least 1,000 jobs, and their operations will sustain another 400 annually. The nearly completed New Jersey Wind Port has already supported more than 200 jobs, and SBMT’s construction is projected to create 1,000 more in the heart of New York City.

Some ports under development will anchor long-term manufacturing investments. The New Jersey Wind Port, for example, is expected to sustain 1,500 jobs when fully complete, with manufacturing facilities adjacent to long-term Marshalling and Assembly operations activities. Rhode Island is already excelling at attracting these investments. ProvPort has evolved into offering storage, bunkering, and secondary steel manufacturing for two different commercial-scale projects, creating 120 jobs annually for the past 3 years. The Port of Davisville is also planning its future around the long-term operations and maintenance needs of offshore wind. Operator Quonset Development Corp. has so far invested $175 million of a $234.5 million master plan that aims to position the port to service projects for decades to come — whether that be by sea, or by air. Already, the port is playing a key role as a hub for South Fork O&M.

Much of the industry’s early activities are taking place in America’s northeast, home to smaller ports that once beamed with shipping, shipbuilding, and fishing activities. The New London State Pier, originally developed in the late 1800s as a ship-to-rail connection, was largely considered underutilized as of five years ago. Now, public officials are using offshore wind as a catalyst to make major facility upgrades to handle both traditional cargo and renewable energy. As a Marshalling & Assembly port, New London is already supporting the construction of three commercial-scale projects totaling 1,750 MW. The project is a prime example of how strategic investments can revitalize forgotten areas.

Similarly, the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal, previously a derelict fossil fuel plant, is set to become a major multi-tenant O&M and laydown hub. Salem, MA, once home to an old coal plant, is undergoing a similar transformation to become the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal, another prominent Marshalling & Staging facility. And in Baltimore, MD — where Tradepoint Atlantic now sits where the largest steel mill on the East Coast used to operate — the city will soon feature both foundation and cable manufacturing facilities. These projects will bring hundreds of millions of dollars in manufacturing investment, employ hundreds of new clean energy trades people, and mark a return to the region’s industrial roots.

The economic revitalization of areas such as New Bedford, Salem, and Tradepoint Atlantic highlights how offshore wind supply chain development is driving investment into underutilized infrastructure and creating a platform for new middle-class clean energy jobs.

Ensuring that there is a consistent, long-term stream offshore wind projects utilizing these repurposed sites is equality important. For example, New London and ProvPort are expected to remain continuously busy for at least four years, supporting the construction of South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and soon, Sunrise Wind. However after that, the ports may face utilization gaps and potential job reductions due to inconsistent offshore wind project deployment. While, both New London and ProvPort have been listed as preferred locations in new offshore wind project proposals, construction and manufacturing activities for those project will not begin again until later in the decade.

Without consistent offshore wind project demand, existing offshore wind port facility may need to transition again to support other industries, newly trained workers may move to other jobs, and it will become even harder to finance and build the additional port capacity we need to support our national and state-level offshore wind deployment goals.

Port financing is already a major bottleneck in the U.S. offshore wind industry. Last year, the Oceantic Network published, Building a National Network of Offshore Wind Ports, authored by Clean Energy Terminals’ Brian Sabina and the Network’s Ports Working Group. The report highlighted the need for at least 65 new U.S. offshore wind port facilities, requiring at least $36 billion in new investment over the next decade. While these figures may sound substantial, $36 billion is approximately 4-6% of the expected private sector investment in U.S. offshore wind generation projects over the next 35 years. And, without this enabling investment, offshore generation projects can’t be built.

The U.S. offshore wind industry urgently needs more investment into port facilities. Increasing public sector grant funding, at both the state and federal levels, that is specifically targeted to these projects is critical not only to meet deployment timelines and but also attract greater amounts of private sector funding, too. New London, for example, attracted $100 million direct private investment from Ørsted and Eversource after the state’s early commitment of public funds for the project. The Network’s paper highlights other financing support structures states could use to spark private investment, like revenue guarantee, which would help cover debt-service payments if a privately financed port was inactive due factors outside of its control (such as the uneven deployment facing the East Coast ports mentioned above). Such smart financial tools help spread risk between the public and private parties and attract significant attention from traditional infrastructure investors.

The promise of economic development from offshore wind will be realized in our ports. However, it will only be realized with expanded strategic infrastructure investments, the use of new smart financing approaches, continuous project pipelines, and a continued faith in the path forward. Redevelopment in New Bedford has transformed the harbor town into an offshore wind hub. The $300 million invested in New London has sparked a local economic renaissance and is supporting a multi-state supply chain all the way to Texas. The four billion dollars already injected into U.S. offshore wind ports may only be a crumb of what is ultimately needed, but it is already having a tangible impact on American communities along, and far from, the coast.

When the ECO Edison steamed into the Port of Providence earlier this month, it made one thing clear: Offshore wind is a powerhouse of potential for U.S. shipbuilding.

Born in the Louisiana bayou, ECO Edison will serve as a key piece of the multi-decade operations and maintenance supply chain tasked with keeping northeastern wind projects running smoothly. Construction of the $97 million Service Operations Vessel (SOV) took more than two years and put at least 600 Americans to work. The project’s broader supply chain – where everything, from steel and engines to interior paneling and electronics, was sourced – reached 34 states.

The ECO Edison is one of 50+ newbuild and retrofitted vessels announced in response to the more than 12 GW of offshore wind power offtake agreements states have contracted — a fraction of the overall state demand which now surpasses 115 GW, including codified targets and planning goals. Combined, the current vessel orders are bringing at least $1.7 billion into 13 U.S. shipyards across eight states, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast, and even in the Great Lakes.

As the ECO Edison showed, the impact of such projects reaches far beyond a shipyard’s docks. Using collected supplier contract data, the Oceantic Network found these 13 shipyards are sourcing from steel plants in seven states often far from the coast, including Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Engines and other major components parts were sourced out of Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia. Just one vessel, the $650 million Wind Turbine Installation Vessel (WTIV) Charybdis being constructed in Brownsville, Texas pulled steel from Alabama, Texas, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

The shipyards themselves are major job creators, often serving as long-term employment hubs in rural communities. Using public data and member interviews, the Oceantic Network found just five shipyards (out of the 13 identified as having worked on offshore wind vessels) have collectively employed more than 2,500 people that helped build offshore wind vessels. Interviews with this growing industry’s demand. Wally Naquin of Edison Chouest said the new orders have helped his community deal with declining opportunities from less oil and gas work. “We don’t have to do any layoffs because of the [offshore] wind industry. Its renewed, not just our shipyard, its renewed southeast Louisiana [because] we [are] keeping people working.”

Estimates offer a glimpse into the sheer magnitude of demand for offshore wind shipbuilding. For example, federal researchers determined the industry would require 58 Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) under the Biden Administration’s 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 goal. Another estimate from analyst group Intelatus Global Partners finds that total swells to 130 for an 87 GW market. That equals a $1.14 billion opportunity for U.S. yards for just one vessel classification – and the smallest one at that!

CTVs are the workhorses of the offshore wind maritime industry, ferrying technicians on daily trips to and from turbines. As smaller vessels usually tied to individual wind farms, they are the easiest to finance and can be manufactured at many U.S. shipyards. As of today, U.S. yards have launched ten new CTVs, retrofitted three others, and have 17 on order, several of which the Network anticipates launching in the next couple of months. To meet the estimated industry requirements for the 30 GW target, however, would require that fleet to double.

As vessel classifications grow larger, they become harder to finance and fewer yards have the capabilities to build them. For example, SOVs like the ECO Edison can cost upwards of $100 million to construct. These “floating hotels” allow technicians to spend weeks at sea during both installation and maintenance periods. Besides the Eco Edison, two more SOVs are well underway at the Edison Chouest yard in Houma, Louisiana and the Fincanteri Bay Shipbuilding yard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Three others have been retrofitted from existing oil and gas assets, with a fourth currently in progress. Federal researchers estimate 13 are needed in total to meet the 30 GW goal, meaning another requirement to double.

Progress continues on the hull of a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) at the Senesco Marine shipyard in Rhode Island.

Installation vessels have proven the hardest to build in the U.S., and currently only two are under construction: the aforementioned $650 million Charybdis and the $250 million scour protection vessel Acadia, which recently laid its keel in Philadelphia. This vessel classification faces three simultaneous challenges. First, financing a vessel requires several years of contract guarantees; installation vessels go from project to project, and with market fluctuation and the lack of a clear, long-term development pipeline, lining up even a few years of contracts is difficult. Second, certain installation activities do not require the use of U.S.-built vessels, meaning prospective owner-operators will face stiff foreign competition once the vessel is launched. (This has, however, opened the door to new, innovative installation techniques, leading to increased tug and barge construction). Finally, there are a limited number of U.S. yards capable of building a WTIV, which can drive up prices and slow production.

Solving the installation vessel conundrum is one of the most important policy challenges facing the U.S. offshore wind market. Because of their specialized nature, supply is low globally, and demand is only increasing. The loss of an installation vessel can have cascading detrimental impacts on a wind farm’s deployment, even leading to overall project cancellation.

Offshore wind is not alone; similar challenges are facing U.S. shipbuilding across the board including the defense sector, domestic shipping, and other maritime activities. In the years since World War Two, the number of American shipyards capable of handling vessels of 500 feet or more has dwindled from 50 down to just 20 today. Securing the U.S. offshore wind industry requires addressing the entire shipbuilding sector — energy, commercial, and defense — with targeted investments in yard capacity and new financing and insurance mechanisms so that U.S. yards can produce globally competitive offshore wind vessels.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) is playing the long game. In May, the Louisiana shipbuilder christened the first American-made service operations vessel (SOV) for the U.S. offshore wind industry –– the result of ECO’s decades of honed naval expertise and the cultivation of a relationship with clean energy developer Ørsted, among others.

ECO Edison, which was commissioned by Ørsted to support its Northeast projects, helps fill a gap in the growing clean energy industry that demands a fleet of dozens of specialized vessels, many of which must also be Jones Act-compliant. The project also allowed Edison Chouest (ECO) to continue supporting its existing employees, and create new roles that increased its labor pool, ECO’s Vice President of Renewables Michael Braid said.

“We have also opened offices in New York and Rhode Island and will continue to expand our resources in each,” Braid said. “We never underestimate the value and opportunity to keep creating new projects for our team and future hires.”

The May 2024 christening of ECO Edison, the first new-build SOV in the U.S., constructed at the Edison Chouest shipyard in Louisiana. (Courtesy: Edison Chouest)

ECO has been a lynchpin for the industry’s vessel needs, and has supported phases of engineering, construction, permitting, and operations and maintenance (O&M) at South Fork, Vineyard Wind, and Revolution Wind utilizing existing, modified, or new build vessels and services. Combined, their work has resulted in 16 charters totaling about 67 vessel years.

On the horizon, the company will deliver a second new build SOV for the Empire Wind project next summer, and in 2026 will complete two, new build articulated tug and barge feedering vessels in support of Maersk’s new wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). ECO was also recently listed as Avangrid’s preferred supplier of a new build SOV to support the developer’s New England projects.

Oceantic Network spoke with Braid about ECO’s journey in offshore wind. From their initial engagement with Ørsted to the delivery of ECO Edison, the interview offers a look at the factors that drew the company into the industry, what’s keeping them there, and what the future might hold for the legacy Gulf shipbuilder. Let’s dive in.

Oceantic: When did you identify offshore wind’s potential for new business growth?

Braid: We have been monitoring the sector’s rapid growth in Europe through our joint venture partner Island Offshore for the last 12-15 years. We were always confident that at some stage the U.S. sector would flourish, so we positioned ourselves early to move with the tier-1 contractors so that we earned experience through the first wave of projects. We have been very fortunate to work with established contractors on wind farm engineering, procurement, and construction services in the U.S. such as Boskalis, Jan De Nul, DEME Group, and Nexans. They have been excellent partners to work with; their depth of knowledge and experience in the sector is unparalleled, which allows us first-hand experience to learn from the best in this new and burgeoning sector.

Our first engagement was with Ørsted for their long-term SOV at South Fork, Revolution, and Sunrise offshore wind farms back in 2018-2019. We ended up executing a contract with them in 2020 and have since worked very closely with their teams and expanded our services to them across multiple verticals. The first project we undertook was with DEME using the Laney Chouest to plough at South Fork ahead of their vessel laying export and array cables last year.

Oceantic: What factors did you consider when you decided to take on the ECO Edison project?

Braid: When we look at new build projects, we first look at the intricacy to measure competitiveness, and then it’s really down to who the client is. We model ourselves on long-term relationships, therefore this project being a “first of its kind” in the U.S. with a leading player such as Ørsted, was very attractive.

Oceantic: Why was Edison Chouest well-suited to take on this project?

Braid: This project was a perfect example of how a vertically integrated organization can add more value and de-risk very sensitive projects. We held all the critical components for this in-house and leveraged our capabilities, so the client and project realized this was the only viable solution.

  • We design our vessels in-house with our team of naval architects and engineers and have been doing so for decades.
  • We have our own dedicated U.S. shipyard group covering four yards across three states that build exclusively for ECO.
  • We have our own marine procurement affiliate that supports our nearly 300 strong fleet, which delivers purchase power and efficiencies.
  • We own our own component suppliers such as Marine Technologies, which provides dynamic positioning and control systems for the bridge, communications systems, and the control systems for the integrated gangway system.
  • We employ our mariners directly and train them in our facility in Louisiana, providing them with free access to continue their career trajectory and performance growth.

This is not exhaustive, but showcases what separates us from any other offshore ship owner in the world.

Oceantic: How does ECO Edison compare to other vessels ECO has built in the past?

Braid: We covet complex projects because we can utilize our full breadth of capabilities, and ECO Edison certainly delivered that! It isn’t the largest project we have taken on, but Ørsted was clear in their targets for how the SOV would operate so we knew it was going to be a very close collaboration to achieve those efficiencies. We have built a cruise ship and delivered many yachts from within our wider group, so we knew we had the experience and capabilities in-house to deliver the high-quality accommodations and amenities the client required.

Oceantic: What new elements did the project present?

Braid: Designing, then building, a vessel with an integrated motion-compensated gangway was new for us, but the team at Ulmatec worked closely with us so we could undertake as much as possible from the U.S., such as building the tower ourselves and delivering our own control package. We also built the aluminum workboat, which is a 12-meter Chartwell design –– another first for us. We select our partners closely, so we had comfort in the end product meeting the quality we and Ørsted require.

Liz Burdock, President and CEO of Oceantic Network, tours the ECO Edison vessel.

Oceantic: How do you envision your role in offshore wind going forward?

Braid: We have a target of providing integrated marine-based services through a single contracted American solution covering subsea, marine logistics and topside integrity management. ECO will be looking to offer full O&M-based services in the future, so watch this space.

Bonus Question: Have you given a name to Eco Edison’s new mini-CTV?

Braid: TEE ED, which means little Ed, referencing big Ed being the ECO Edison.

The U.S. offshore wind vessel fleet is quickly expanding with four new crew transfer vessels (CTVs) launched in the first quarter of 2024, and construction of the first U.S.-based wind turbine installation vessel nearing completion. Read the latest updates on the industry’s steel and shipbuilding supply chain in Oceantic Network’s Quarterly Market Report.

In mid-May, Network staff had the opportunity to visit the first completed offshore wind project in the United States, South Fork Wind, which announced the completion of construction on March 15, 2024. South Fork Wind is only the beginning of a 115,000 MW at-scale clean energy transition that is beneficial to both to the environment, and the American industrial economy that builds it. The 12-turbine project generates 132 MW of clean electricity and delivers it to the Long Island grid, enough to power over 70,000 homes and jumpstart New York State’s march to its 9,000 MW offshore wind goal.

The project is also a test case for the potential offshore wind has to be America’s next great industry. Building the modestly-sized project required a supply chain that stretched across at least 19 states sparked nearly $1 billion in new investments from upstate New York and Connecticut to the Gulf Coast supporting it and other near-term projects. The Network has identified 173 supply chain contracts associated with the South Fork Wind project, ranging from engineering and survey work to vessel construction and operation. From those investments and contracts, the Network can track at least 2,000 Americans who worked in manufacturing and construction jobs alone that supported the project – a total that does not include the long-term operations and maintenance jobs created to support the project’s two-decade lifespan, or the hundreds of planning, development, or lower tier supply chain jobs. American unions are serving as the backbone of these projects and filling many of the jobs with locals who supply labor for port redevelopment, component manufacturing, turbine installation, and maintenance work.

As was the case with America’s first test project, Block Island Wind Farm, the Gulf of Mexico played an outsized role, leveraging its offshore construction expertise to give new opportunities to legacy oil and gas suppliers.

On May 10, industry leaders and government dignitaries, like U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02), came together in New Orleans for the launching of the first new-build SOV in the U.S., the ECO Edison. The $100 million vessel put 600 individuals to work at the Edison Chouest shipyard in Southern Louisiana and yielded a supply chain reaching 34 states. While constructed in the Gulf, the Edison will operate more than 1,500 miles away, safely housing and transporting workers during weeks-long deployments for Ørsted’s Northeastern projects, such as South Fork Wind and its under-construction big brother, the 704 MW Revolution Wind.

The May 2024 christening of ECO Edison, the first new-build SOV in the U.S., constructed at the Edison Chouest shipyard in Louisiana. (Courtesy: Edison Chouest)

Further west, Texas’ Gulf Copper retrofitted an existing barge that operator Crowley used to transport the turbine blades — as long as a football field — and massive nacelles from port to the South Fork installation site. In Corpus Christi, Texas, Kiewit Offshore Services manufactured the first American-made offshore wind substation with the help of 350 workers in the Gulf and in Kansas. Gulf operators like Otto Candies and Guice Offshore also brought vessels out of the Gulf to support installation activities. In the case of Otto Candies, their vessels were even retrofitted in the Gulf to better serve the offshore wind industry.

South Fork Wind also featured the first American-manufactured offshore wind components. Export cables, which carry power from the American-made offshore substation to shore, were manufactured near Charleston, South Carolina in Nexans’ new $200 million facility that employs 200 locally (and exports globally). Long Island’s Haugland Group put 100 to work building the onshore transmission system that linked the export cables from the shore to the grid, and Roman Stone provided the concrete mattresses that protect the cables. In western New York, Ljungström invested $10.7 million to revive an ailing steel mill and hired 200 more people to meet the demand from offshore wind. The facility provided the steel for Riggs Distler’s $40 million plant in the Port of Providence (ProvPort) where more than 100 trades workers manufactured huge internal steel cages and external platforms that allow workers to access the foundation and tower base.

Offshore wind’s need for port space and access is immense, and the development of South Fork Wind helped inject hundreds of millions in new investments into northeastern ports, such as Port Jefferson in New York where the Eco Edison will be stationed. To support installation activities, $310 million went into redeveloping the New London State Pier in Connecticut, which yielded an estimated 400 jobs and a world-class offshore wind marshalling port where towers, blades, and nacelles are housed as they await transit to the wind project. Now complete, the pier will support at least two more wind farm installations –– Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind. In Rhode Island, ProvPort has been transformed into a vital hub for the industry by providing manufacturing, storage, and general operations services for the industry as it supports installation activities off New England. On the day the Network visited, the Cade Candies — a vessel out of Louisiana and retrofitted to work on offshore wind — was docked. This is a common occurrence at ProvPort where dozens of Gulf assets have already called.

Above: The substation at South Fork Wind, the first of its kind manufactured in the U.S. It was built in Corpus Christi, Texas by Kiewit Offshore Services.

Further down the bay, the Port of Davisville is undergoing its own $200 million redevelopment in part to support its role as an operations and maintenance hub for South Fork Wind and other projects. At the neighboring airport, HeliService USA has transported up to 180 workers per day by helicopter to perform installation and maintenance activities at northeast projects. By water, WindServe Marine and American Offshore Services are operating five Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) for project developer Ørsted’s northeastern projects, all manufactured at nearby Rhode Island shipyards Senesco Marine and Blount Boats; Senesco has on hundreds of workers to support manufacturing of these and other offshore wind vessels. Each of these companies are employing scores of workers who will be transporting turbine technicians and operators out to project sites for decades to come.

South Fork Wind provides a window into the economic opportunity offshore wind presents the nation. Just readying the U.S. to build this 12-turbine project sparked hundreds of millions in new investments and put at least 2,000 people to work in manufacturing and construction jobs. Harder to quantify are the hundreds that supported the project by performing engineering and survey work — such as Haley & Aldrich, Inspire Environmental, Keystone Engineering, or Woods Hole Group — or local supply businesses like Red Ironworks and Miller Marine, who provided critical construction support.

The U.S. market is now accelerating deployment with three projects, all multitudes larger than South Fork Wind –– the 704 MW Revolution Wind project that will heavily rely on the supply chain developed by South Fork Wind, the 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1, which is primarily based out of Massachusetts, and the 2,587 MW Coastal Virginia project. Many more projects are in the development pipeline as U.S. states have already collectively set goals for more than 115,000 MW of offshore wind.

Oceantic Network’s annual Leadership 100 Summit  gathers U.S. offshore wind leaders for an intimate working meeting to identify the industry’s pressing, shared challenges and develop action plans to continue growing a robust U.S. offshore wind industry and supply chain.

In April, the Network released an executive summary and meeting notes from the Leadership 100 Summit in November 2023, sharing much of the valuable insight gained by attendees with the broader offshore wind industry. Download the report below!

Key findings include:

  • The potential to foster greater supply chain investments and advancement by encouraging greater project viability in the procurement structure and by decoupling projects from port and transmission infrastructure development, activities which developers may be ill-suited to execute
  • The need to build a greater understanding of the downstream supply chain costs and increased market risk that comes from continually increasing turbine sizes and lead to less efficient development
  • The need for a greater industry-wide collaborative communications strategy to combat misinformation and increase public support for offshore wind
  • Data’s ability to strengthen the industry through building public support, reducing pre-development costs, or helping make more environmentally sound regulatory decisions

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