Dr. Jason Jonkman, National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

Project Submission: OpenFAST Design Code Enabling Floating Offshore Wind 

Dr. Jason Jonkman is nominated for outstanding contributions he made to help launch the floating offshore wind industry. For 20 years, Dr. Jonkman worked to originate, engineer, maintain, and optimize FAST, one of the world’s first engineering computer design tools specifically developed to assess coupled dynamic loading on floating wind turbines.The FAST innovation led the way for the first generation of floating wind turbines and continues to serve the industry today as a principal asset. 

In 2002 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) first recognized offshore wind and tasked the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with initiating an offshore wind research program. At this time, floating wind turbines were considered fringe technology studied only by a few with very little physics-based evidence of viability. The DOE vision was to explore the feasibility of floating wind technology, a job which came to rest on Jason Jonkman.  

Jason spent many years, while gaining his PhD, reworking and upgrading the clunky land-based wind turbine dynamics code, FAST, and creating a new offshore code. By 2005, this uber FAST code could now simulate wave actions, anchor system dynamics, coupled floating platform dynamics and integrate the advanced controls needed to stabilize the complex system motions. His early work was so important and respected that it was followed by many European researchers. For 20 years, Dr. Jonkman worked to originate, engineer, maintain, and optimize the FAST Code, now called OpenFAST, one of the world’s first engineering computer design tools specifically developed to assess coupled dynamic loading on floating wind turbines.  

At the first European offshore wind conference in Copenhagen in 2005, Jason co-founded an international research project on offshore code evaluation sponsored by IEA Wind, Task 30, which continues today under the leadership of NREL’s Dr. Amy Robertson. This IEA project, known as the Offshore Codes Comparison Collaborative, led to improvements in all offshore analysis codes worldwide, due in a large part to Jason’s work and leadership. This industry-wide quality assurance process remains a critical pillar of the offshore wind industry today. In addition, Jason has served continuously on the IEC TC-88 61400-3-1 offshore wind design standards committee to ensure it contains the latest design practices followed by designers. 

Because of Jason’s work, the NREL/DOE’s offshore wind research is among the best in the world. His work provided robust stability to the NREL offshore wind program even while federal support for offshore wind wavered. He is considered the most knowledgeable floating offshore turbine analyst in the world. His work with FAST has given the industry a transparent, open-source design tool which is second to none and will be recognized by experts for decades.   

Ørsted 

Project Submission: Growing the American Offshore Wind Workforce

Ørsted operates the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and constructed the two-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project – the first turbines to be installed in federal waters. Ørsted has approximately 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy in development in five states and across seven projects.

These projects include: 

Revolution Wind:  

• 50/50 JV w/ Eversource, 704MW (400MW to RI, 304MW to CT) 
• Will power over 350,000 CT and RI homes  
• Construction expected to start as early as 2023  

South Fork Wind:  

• 50/50 JV w/ Eversource, 132MW 
• Will power 70,000 Long Island homes 
• The South Fork Export Cable will deliver power to the substation located off Cove Hollow Road in the Town of East Hampton  
• Currently under construction, commercial operations expected 2023  

Sunrise Wind:  

• 50/50 JV w/ Eversource, approximately 924MW  
• Will power nearly 600,000 homes 
• The Sunrise Export Cable will deliver power to the Holbrook substation in the Town of Brookhaven  
• Commercial operations expected as early as 2024  

Ocean Wind 1:  

• 75/25 JV with PSEG, 1,100MW 
• Will power over half a million New Jersey homes  
• Commercial operations expected by the end of 2024   

Ocean Wind 2:  

• 1,148MW  
• Will power over half a million New Jersey homes  
• Construction expected to begin in 2028  
• COD expected in late 2028/early 2029  

Skipjack Wind:  

• 966MW 
• Will power over 300,000 homes in the Delmarva region  
• Commercial operations expected by the second half of 2026  

As the leading developer both globally and in the U.S., Ørsted Offshore North America is at the forefront of equitably growing an American offshore wind workforce. Under the leadership of Allison Ziogas, Head of Labor Relations, Ørsted has developed a best-in-class approach to labor relations and workforce development. This includes supporting current workers as they seek to apply their skills in the offshore wind industry, funding and guiding local training programs to create the next generation of offshore wind workers, launching brand new supportive programs that increase access to offshore wind careers, setting diversity goals to track progress on equity promises, encouraging job-creating supply chain opportunities to be in the U.S., and more.

Project Submission:
Construction of the First U.S. Flagged Jone Act-compliant SRI Vessel

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC is fully engaged in the rapidly developing U.S.

offshore wind market. Its first step in this effort is the investment into the construction of the first U.S. flagged Jones Act-compliant, subsea rock installation (SRI) vessel. The vessel is currently under construction and will set new standards for efficiency and innovation with its large capacity, accurate placement technology, innovative battery, and alternative fuel system.

The company’s journey to seize this unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to enter the offshore wind market is complex and challenging. Challenges include:

• Design and construction of a rock installation vessel, which has never been built in the U.S.
• Identifying a U.S. shipyard with the capability and capacity to build a large offshore wind vessel on time to support the booming U.S. offshore wind market
• De-risking and financing a major investment in the order of $200M
• Winning installation contracts to build a multi-year backlog for the vessel while the company has no track record in rock installation,
• Building an offshore wind team within GLDD capable of operating this specialized offshore wind rock installation vessel 
• Entering partnership agreements with global leaders in offshore wind installations

Maryland Energy Administration 

Project Submission: A Holistic Approach to Offshore Wind Investment  

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) was an early supporter of the offshore wind industry. MEA and the State of Maryland have sought to establish a competitive offshore wind supply chain in the state. MEA has taken a holistic approach to creating an offshore wind market consisting of Maryland-based businesses and skilled workers. This approach includes investments in strategies to de-risk offshore wind development, decrease the levelized cost of energy of offshore wind projects, centralize Maryland as an offshore wind supply chain hub for the east coast, and increase the economic opportunities available for businesses and individuals.  

MEA has accomplished this by: 

• Actively engaging in offshore wind policy and legislation 
• Investing in research through membership organizations such as the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC), the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA), and the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative (RWSC), that help to de-risk offshore wind energy investments 
• Providing financial resources for businesses and individuals to get involved in the offshore wind energy supply chain and workforce 
• Partnering with the Business Network for Offshore Wind to create educational resources, 
• Partnering with other Maryland state agencies through an offshore wind Work Group 
• Partnering with neighboring states through the Strategic Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources (SMART-POWER) partnership.