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Oceantic Network Celebrates Federal Action to Advance Offshore Wind Lease Sales in Maine and Oregon 

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Proposed lease areas mark new wave of U.S. projects and collectively provide space for 18 GW of projects 

For Immediate Release:  April 30, 2024  
Media Contact:  Luke Jeanfreau | [email protected] | 504-302-8079 

BALTIMORE — The Oceantic Network celebrates today’s announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of two new offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Maine and off the Oregon Coast. This morning, BOEM issued Proposed Sale Notices (PSNs) for nearly one million acres in the Gulf of Maine, enough to host 15 GW of projects, and just under 200 thousand acres off the coast of Oregon, the second on America’s West Coast and an area with the potential to power over a million homes.  

These two new PSNs represent a potential 18 GW of clean, renewable energy and are the first of a dozen offshore wind lease auctions the Department of Interior announced last week during the Network’s 2024 International Partnering Forum (IPF), the largest offshore wind conference in the Americas. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland made the announcement during the conference’s Plenary Session and later that same day, Maine Governor Janet Mills took the stage to announce her state’s intention to secure up to 3 GW of offshore wind power generation in an upcoming solicitation round. The state simultaneously released a Request for Information seeking public input on the solicitation.  

The following statement can be attributed to Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic Network:  

“BOEM’s combined announcement solidifies two new regional markets for floating offshore wind, balancing the development of this industry sector across both coasts. New lease areas in Oregon will support a further buildout of the West Coast’s regional supply chain, adding strength to California projects. And in the Gulf of Maine, this new 15 GW potential will drive the creation of a floating offshore wind supply chain on the East Coast.” 

Additional Information: 

For more information or to arrange an interview with the Network, contact Luke Jeanfreau at [email protected] or 504-302-8079. 

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As a non-profit organization, the Oceantic Network’s driving purpose is to inform, coordinate, and mobilize human ingenuity, enterprise, and labor to take advantage of the urgent need to tap the vast offshore wind and renewable energy resources that lie in the world’s oceans. The collective, coordinated efforts of our 600+ members equip communities and nations to accelerate the transition to clean energy and create economic opportunities. 

Oceantic Network releases its U.S. Offshore Wind Quarterly Market Report in April, July, and October. Each report builds off our U.S. Offshore Wind Annual Market Report and provides key analysis of both federal and state government activities impacting the U.S. offshore wind industry. The quarterly reports ensure companies are informed on offshore wind industry developments affecting their business.

Notable milestones for the first three months of 2024 include Ørsted and Eversource’s completion of South Fork Wind project in March. Next up is Vineyard Wind, to be completed later this year, which also began delivering power to the grid. Meanwhile, two new projects, which are collectively triple the size of South Fork and Vineyard, were announced to begin installation this summer.

The report details important developments that affected the U.S. offshore wind industry in the first quarter of 2024, including: 

  • BOEM increased the total capacity approved for construction by over 30% as the U.S. more than quintupled its installed offshore wind capacity – from 42 MW to 242 MW. 
  • U.S. Forged Rings announced a new $700 million tower and forge facility to be located on the East Coast, an investment made purely based on the strength of the U.S. market. 
  • Another 4,000 MW of projects are expected to begin installation activities this summer. 
  • New IRS tax guidance will drive down costs for a range of offshore wind activities across the East Coast. 
  • Four new crew transfer vessels, the workhorse of the offshore wind industry, have launched in just the past three months.  
  • New offtake awards contain provisions supporting supply chain investments throughout the East Coast. 

For weekly U.S. offshore wind updates, subscribe to the Offshore Wind Insider newsletter.   

Key Learnings That are Helping to Grow Offshore Wind

With commercial-scale projects now spinning off the East Coast, the U.S. offshore wind industry is officially up-and-running.

Such development will soon make its way to new regions, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where a well-established manufacturing industry has already been hard at work creating the vessels and components necessary to build offshore wind in the U.S.

Last year, the Biden Administration auctioned the first offshore wind development rights in the Gulf, as Louisiana set ambitious goals to obtain 5 GW of power from offshore wind. These steps help to signal that the Gulf is ready for offshore wind.

The region is in an ideal position to serve as the engine of the offshore wind supply chain. Leaning on decades of offshore oil and gas expertise, the Gulf of Mexico is providing the knowledge and assets to build offshore in the U.S.

According to statistics compiled by Oceantic Network, “23% of contracts in the U.S. market are going to Gulf firms and approximately $1 billion in investments are flowing to Gulf shipyards and fabrication yards.”(Source: UNLOCKING THE GULF OF MEXICO’S OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL An Examination of Existing Supply Chain Capabilities and Challenges, August 2023.)

One company helping to drive innovative, offshore wind manufacturing is Gulf Wind Technology (GWT), a leading wind turbine rotor technology specialist. GWT delivers technology-based solutions spanning design, testing and implementation of wind turbines to improve turbine performance and reliability. The New Orleans-based company has also built the Shell Gulf Wind Accelerator (SGWA) to share and develop knowledge, technology, industry presence, and capabilities. The accelerator’s primary focus is to increase renewable energy competitiveness to solve industry challenges and maintain long term successful ventures in offshore wind energy.

We spoke with James Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Wind Technology (GWT) about what’s happening in his company’s backyard.

Oceantic Network: How would you describe the current climate for offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico? 

James Martin: We believe this industry has a strong future. The Louisiana Gulf Coast holds some of the most effective and experienced industrial offshore energy infrastructure in the country, which is key to a safe, efficient, and scalable launch for an offshore wind market. This experience, knowledge, and infrastructure can provide the necessary expertise to build offshore wind.

The greatest challenge and opportunity are to figure out how to harness lower wind speeds amid powerful hurricanes that are frequenting the Gulf region. These challenges may impact the cost of capital and erode industry confidence but are also generating opportunities to develop new technologies. GWT is positioning itself to solve this key challenge by designing a suite of technologies to improve turbine yield and performance.

If you’re attending 2024 IPF in New Orleans, April 22-25, don’t miss Gulf Wind Technology’s Meg Lidrbauch, Senior Loads Engineer, and other industry experts discuss steps the industry is taking to design turbines that can withstand the force of major hurricanes.

Oceantic Network: What are the greatest needs for the industry in this region? 

James Martin: The greatest need moving forward is to prioritize the stimulation of boundaryless collaboration programs that showcase what can be achieved with the right resources. Europe and the Northeastern U.S. are further ahead in their offshore wind development with some farms already producing electricity. Let’s work together to further fund technology development, generate step by step change, reduce risk, and scale best practices that lower offshore wind energy costs. We work in one of the most exciting industries. Collaborating to prioritize needs and structure is key to growing our industry.

Oceantic Network: What resources, tools, investments, or other steps do you feel would support the growth of offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico if taken today?

James Martin: The offshore wind industry is maturing and starting to recognize challenges and lessons learned from market-driven, rapid product iterations. GWT is deeply rooted in advanced manufacturing-led design philosophies such as Lean and Six Sigma, including part of the team’s prior experience in automotive and aerospace composites. These applications focus on improving efficiency, time management and customer satisfaction, while also reducing variance. As an industry we must adapt these processes for better and more cost-effective turbine manufacturing.

We are starting to witness more open engagement by leaders across the value chain to utilize current strategies for quality operations and efficiencies. One critical next step is to unleash these experts to drive a balance of innovation and risk reduction that create advanced products, technologies, and processes and move the industry forward.

Oceantic Network: Given offshore wind is only beginning to leave its mark in this region, what advice do you have for companies looking to get involved in the Gulf of Mexico? 

James Martin: Offshore Wind is a game of “patient capital,” that will deliver over time. Engaging in the supply chain for both onshore and offshore wind is one of the critical entry points and one that Louisiana is doing well. The region has decades of experience running large energy infrastructure projects, including skilled employees and resources to solve problems associated with deploying and maintaining “steel in the water.” Any aspiring company looking to move into the industry will do well to engage with local firms and partner where appropriate. 

About Shell Gulf Wind Technology Accelerator

GWT has strategically partnered with Shell New Energies US LLC (Shell) to create the Shell Gulf Wind Technology Accelerator program. The collaboration includes deployment of novel technologies to develop, test and implement the first suite of optimized technical solutions for a Gulf of Mexico-specific wind turbine. The Shell Gulf Wind Technology Accelerator will be a key enabler for wind in the region, combining research and development of new technologies with the Gulf’s first technology-focused education and training facility for workforce development aimed at accelerating the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind learning curve.  

Maximizing Your Content Marketing Strategy is a comprehensive series on how Oceantic Network members can utilize our tools to produce content that will stand out.

Let’s Review: The Significance of Content Marketing and Unlocking Its Potential 

In the dynamic realm of content marketing, where the digital landscape is ever evolving, the ability to harness a diverse set of tools is essential to effectively conveying your brand, your company’s relevance, or your expertise. Today, content marketing has never been more important for a growing business! There are multiple platforms to choose from– whether its blog posts, social media updates, podcasts, or newsletters, compelling content serves as a powerful way to stand out and connect with target audiences.  

Read our previous blog in this series for more on the importance of content marketing. 

The Oceantic Network offers a variety of opportunities and resources you can leverage to enhance your content marketing efforts.  

Be more than an attendee: Speak, sponsor, or co-host at Oceantic Network Events 

Members of Oceantic Network are given priority as we choose speakers, sponsors, and co-hosts for our events. Whether big or small, virtual or in-person, we encourage you to do more than just attend our events.  

Speaking at an event can benefit you and your company in many ways. When a representative from a company speaks at an event, it provides an opportunity to showcase the depth of knowledge and expertise within the organization. This positions your credibility and authority in the field. It signals that your company is not only active within the industry’s community, but also working to instill growth, contributing to conversations, and sharing insights with peers. Co-hosting or sponsoring events comes with the same perks, and if you’re looking to get your company more visibility, these are a particularly beneficial option.  

Speaking engagements, sponsorship, and co-hosting often come with media coverage, social media mentions, and event promotions, which will further increase a companies visibility and exposure. Posting about your involvement not only extends the life of your content but also demonstrates your expertise to a broader audience. 

How to get involved: 

If you are interested in speaking at an event, please fill out our interest form. Speaking opportunities range from individual presentations, moderating a session or presenting on a panel. Tell us what you’re interested in speaking about, and if you specialize in a topic. 

Oceantic Network hosts a variety of in-person and virtual events across the U.S. ranging in audience size. If you are interested in partnering with us for an upcoming event or have an idea for an event, please email [email protected]. You can also keep an eye out for event landing pages. Our larger events will have a webpage with the option to become a sponsor linked.  If you’re a smaller company looking to get more exposure, member events and virtual events are a great option. 

Leveraging these opportunities with content creation 

After you’ve secured your speaking engagement, sponsorship, or co-hosted event, it’s time to utilize it to create long-lasting and engaging content to share with your peers. To optimize and extend the life of your content’s reach, think about posts you can do pre-event, during the event, and post event. 

  • Share your speaking engagements in advance through your social media channels and website to promote and create buzz. 
  • Share photos of preparation and the event space beforehand, for a “behind the scenes” post that creates excitement for attendees.  
  • You can go live on social media to show off the event or your speaking presentation real-time.
  • Post-event, use your speaking presentation to create various content. This could be a social post about key takeaways, blog posts, infographics, or even webinars.
  • Create content from questions asked at your speaking engagements.
  • Upload pictures of your or your company members speaking at the event, or attendees at the event, or reshare photos attendees posted on their own accounts. 
  • Create Collaborative Content with people you speak with or meet. Follow up on the topic in joint webinars, co-authored blog posts, or podcasts.  PRO TIP: Collaborative content not only diversifies your content but also leverages the followership of your collaborators.    

Stay updated on our upcoming events

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

Here’s why Burns & McDonnell remains confident in the industry despite recent hiccups.

A little more than seven years ago, Burns & McDonnell had no involvement in the offshore wind industry. Today, the engineering firm is involved in roughly 80% of U.S. projects across a range of activities — and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Heading up the company’s now well-established role in this new industry is Offshore Wind Director Tony Appleton, who recently spoke with Oceantic Network about the ups and downs of the industry over the past year.

While 2023 saw many successes for the U.S. offshore wind industry, cost overruns due to inflation and supply chain constraints led to several project cancellations. Despite some rough waters, states and many private companies remain confident in the industry’s future success.

Tony shared that Burns & McDonnell has run into its fair share of challenges amid industry shakeups. As a result, the company has looked even more closely at the work it takes on, the reasons behind it, and the risks attached to some of those challenges.

“As the offshore wind industry evolves in the U.S., we continue to carefully analyze the developing federal and state requirements. This critical observation doesn’t hinder our progress in pursuing project opportunities, but it does necessitate more comprehensive risk reviews. By examining the work we undertake, the underlying motives, and the associated risks, we are positioning ourselves to navigate the complexities of this developing industry with informed precision.”

Here’s what else he had to say about the state of offshore wind today.

Oceantic Network: In many ways, 2023 was a difficult year for the offshore wind industry — even though we had a lot of successes. But such hardships were not limited to the U.S. What other factors impacted the industry globally?

Appleton: Looking first at the global supply chains, several issues affected them. One is obviously the post-Covid inflation. You’ve then got various wars taking place, particularly in Ukraine, that have affected energy costs and inflation. So, there’s a couple of issues there, but not necessarily ones that we can work to solve.

Oceantic Network: What are your thoughts on the state of the global market for offshore wind and other renewable energy specifically?

Appleton: If you look at the global renewables industry, the desire for offshore wind is apparent. This has caused an almost incomprehensibly large demand on the supply chain. Countries can react in a couple of different ways, one of which is to build numerous new plants and numerous new facilities. That could be a short-term solution but may pose a long-term problem. As offshore wind reaches broader adaption, the demand will slow down making it difficult to occupy those factories long-term That is one reason it’s important that countries work to adopt a balanced approach to their supply chain development.

Oceantic Network: What issues did you see that were specific to the U.S. last year?

Appleton: There’s a uniqueness to the U.S. as every project is different. Every project is the first of its kind. Every single one has a different capacity, is done a different way and has different requirements. Given that the industry is still evolving in the US, issues are being raised in many areas. For example, if you want to permit an offshore wind project in Europe, maybe half a dozen permits are required compared to the US where permitting these types of projects can require more than a hundred permits. In addition to a strenuous permitting system, the U.S. also has competition between the states given that in many cases, the states aren’t working together.

Oceantic Network: What do you see being done to alleviate these concerns?

Appleton: We’re starting to see the beginnings of collaboration. You’re starting to see the states talking to each other and putting thought into how offshore wind adoption can be done together. This is an important consideration because if it is done collectively, there will be more consistency for individual projects and across the supply chain. That’s what three New England states are looking at with their procurement processes. They’re moving from local content to regional content. If they follow through on this plan, it can be a huge step forward, and can serve as an example for other parts of the U.S. This concept of clustering can be a huge asset to resolving some of the industry’s supply chain issues.

Oceantic Network: Does standardization play a role here?

Appleton: Yes, another thing that can be done is to start doing standardized projects. Rather than having a different capacity for each project, there should be an aim for certain consistencies. Another area with potential for standardization is the race for bigger turbines. The industry is not giving itself time to catch up. Turbine manufacturers do not have adequate time to test new models before bringing them to market. Recently, we have seen some of the turbine manufacturers slow the development of newer, larger turbines. I see that as quite positive because it gives the supply chain time to catch up. If the U.S. were to build numerous wind farms using 15 MW turbines, this standardized way of doing things could potentially drive down costs, similar to what we see happening with wind farm projects in Europe.

Oceantic Network: Could share some of your experiences with Burns & McDonnell over the past year in the U.S. in comparison to your operations elsewhere?

Appleton: I’ve seen a lot of growth in the U.S. Industry and feel there is a clearer understanding of what being part of the global offshore wind industry means rather than just a U.S.-centric industry. Offshore wind is very reliant on the global supply chain as it can’t all be managed domestically in any country (with maybe the exception being China). That’s something perhaps a little bit different from many other industries, certainly for us in our work. We’ve had to educate ourselves in what it means to rely on the global supply chain to help us be involved in the industry.

Oceantic Network: You said your appetite for offshore wind hasn’t changed. What would you say are the positive proof points you could point to that indicate the industry’s future success?

Appleton: The country is preparing for offshore wind, especially with the lofty goals set forth to be achieved. While some projects have slowed or been canceled, what we are seeing in the background are the many upgrades being made by utility companies in places beyond Long Island and Connecticut. The grid is seeing upgrades all over and much of that is due to the acknowledgment that offshore wind is not just a concept but a reality.

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