example, to build a monopile production facility at Sparrows Point, Baltimore, which is the former home of Bethlehem Steel. This new factory could later support developments all the way down the windy parts of the Eastern Seaboard. In addition, there are plans for a new monopile facility in New Jersey, as well as a major construction and staging location for offshore wind in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Next year, Dominion Energy is set to deliver the first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel, and Great Lakes Dock and Dredge is building a Jones Act scour protection installation vessel. The Jones Act (which was part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) is here to stay. It requires all goods shipped between American ports to be transported on ships that are built, owned, and operated by United States citizens, creating great job opportunities in our sector. There are certainly challenges ahead, but with political will behind us and a much deeper understanding of the huge benefits, there is no turn - ing back. We’ve demonstrated beyond doubt that offshore wind works, so we will be very much keeping the lights and the tv’s on. Technol- ogy for battery storage and high voltage direct-current transmission has moved on significantly. Taller structures will enable us to capture some of those very powerful winds at higher elevations. Seeing all this unfold after 20 years is extremely gratifying. With offshore wind, we can produce phenomenal amounts of clean energy. 2021 changed everything. And 2022 is already a wildly busy year for the offshore wind industry.
will be able to stand on the beach at Martha’s Vineyard, and as they look out way into the distance, see boats crewed by Americans, going out to service offshore wind farms. I hope they’ll realize that this is where their affordable clean energy comes from, and that we are now doing something quite incredible to protect our planet. Onlookers may even know some friends and family working in the highly successful offshore wind industry, because the job creation is going to be massive. With some 20 projects in various phases of development, including off the shores of New York and North Carolina, there are plans, for Secondary steel design for Japans first commercial windfarm has now been completed by Wood Thilsted.
MATT PALMER is President of leading offshore wind engineering consultancy, Wood Thilsted USA.
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March 2022 csengineermag.com
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