Top 10 spirits launches in November 2020 – The Spirits Business

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1st December, 2020 by Nicola Carruthers

From Lebron James and Teslas first Tequila ventures to Glengoynes oldest Scotch whisky to date, there were plenty of innovative products launched last month.

Roe & Cos first single malt Irish whiskey and a Tequila backed by Lebron James made our list of top spirits

Given its growing popularity, its no surprise that a number of celebrities have entered the Tequila sector in recent years. Over the past month weve seen basketball player Lebron James invest in Lobos 1707, and car maker Tesla also jumped on the bandwagon with a namesake bottling.

Meanwhile, Glengoyne created its oldest Scotch whisky to date and is offering one group of five a free bottle of the 50-year-old expression.

Diageo also moved into single malt Irish whiskey with a new release from Roe & Co, and zero-ABV Everleaf unveiled its first line extensions last month, alongside a new bottle design.

Click through the following pages to discover our favourite spirits launches from last month.

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Top 10 spirits launches in November 2020 - The Spirits Business

The year that shook the economy – New Statesman

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The United Kingdom recorded its first cases of Covid-19 on 31 January, the day it formally left the European Union. After more than three years of parliamentary deadlock and political drift, some on the right believed Boris Johnsons ebullience and resounding general election victory would translate into a mini economic boom. The Boris Bounce Begins, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, tweeted on 18 February after it was confirmed that average real wages had finally exceeded their 2008 level. They would not do so for long.

If the Conservatives were unprepared for a traditional cyclical downturn, they were still less prepared for what followed. Within a few months, the UK was in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic and plunged into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The 25 per cent fall in GDP between February and April returned the economy to the size it had been in mid-2002, when Tony Blair was prime minister, Iain Duncan Smith was the leader of the opposition and Barack Obama was yet to be elected to the US Senate.

The recession suffered by the UK was the worst of any G7 member state and of any advanced economy except Spain. After years of ultra-low unemployment, the UK suffered a record 314,000 redundancies in the three months to September (with a total of 782,000 since March). The budget deficit, which the Conservatives once vowed to eliminate, is forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to reach 394bn by the end of the year, its highest level since the Second World War. The national debt (2.1trn) has risen above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time since 1963. Why was the UK hit so hard? And what does the pandemic mean for its future economic model?

In November 2016, Rishi Sunak, a committed Brexiteer, wrote in a pamphlet for the Thatcherite think tank the Centre for Policy Studies, Upon leaving the EU, Britain will find itself with more opportunities for economic innovation than at any time in almost 50 years. Sunak was proved broadly correct but not for the reasons he thought. Having replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor on 13 February, because he was considered by Dominic Cummings and others to be more compliant than the incumbent, the task of shielding the economy during the worst pandemic in 100 years fell to him. Confronted by the effects of Covid-19, Sunak embraced the mantra of Gordon Brown, when he was prime minister during the 2008 financial crisis, and Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, vowing to do whatever it takes.

Sunak was initially true to his word. Through the widely praised Job Retention Scheme, the state undertook to pay 80 per cent of furloughed workers wages (up to a maximum of 2,500 a month). The Chancellor also temporarily increased the standard Universal Credit allowance by 1,000 a year, taking unemployment support to its highest ever real-terms level. Next to the indolent and often absent Boris Johnson, who presided over a late lockdown, Sunak appeared a model of clarity. Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, was among the Chancellors unlikely cheerleaders. Rishi Sunaks wage support measures are a historic first for this country, but are bold and very much necessary, he said.

***

The Chancellors interventions helped limit the scale of the economic shock but they could not prevent it. In August, it was confirmed that the UK had suffered the worst recession of any G7 country, having alreadyrecorded the highest number of excess deaths in Europe during the first wave of the virus. The juxtaposition of the two was no coincidence: by causing a surge in deaths, the late lockdown helped destroyeconomic confidence.

Many of the stringent measures that were belatedly imposed by the Johnson government endured for longer than in other European countries because the virus had already spread so widely. As Devi Sridhar, aprofessor and the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, recently told me: The [states] that went in hard, dealt with their public health problem and then released had a better economicrecovery.

It was the severity of the UK recession that prompted the rush to reopen the economy in the summer. Workers were implored to return to the office or face redundancy. Sunak, who had become the countrysmost popular politician, launched Eat Out to Help Out, which offered diners a discount of up to 10 per head on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August. But he dismissed demands for the furloughprogramme to be extended beyond 31 October and cut the wage schemes subsidy from 80 per cent to 60 per cent. One could have been forgiven for assuming, in Johnsons words, that Covid-19 had been sentpacking. It had not.

[See also:Leader: Reimagine the high street]

Throughout the summer, epidemiologists consistently warned of the threat of a second wave of the virus in the autumn. In an interview with theNew Statesmanin July, Neil Ferguson, the Imperial Collegeepidemiologist whose modelling had panicked the government into changing policy in March, and a Sage member before his resignation, said of the planned reopening of schools: All our modelling suggests thatthis will lead to an increase in transmission and the [reproduction rate] going above R-1.

By 22 September, faced with a recrudescence of the virus, the government again ordered workers to work from home if they were able to do so. As new local lockdowns were imposed across the north of Englandand the Midlands, the governmentspublic health and economic policies were misaligned: new restrictions were brought forward as state support was rolled back.

Only on 9 October did Sunak announce that the furlough scheme would continue for workers whose firms were forced by law to close (with a 67 per cent wage subsidy, up to 2,100 a month). On 31 October theday the programme was due to end Sunak responded to a second national lockdown in England by restoring the original 80 per cent subsidy and, on 5 November, extending furlough until March 2021. This slowmotion capitulation came at a cost. The timing of redundancies coming through very fast as we moved into the autumn is to do with the planning around the Job Retention Scheme and the short notice of it being retained, Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told me.

***

In a speech in July 2015, two months after he was elected to parliament, Sunak said of George Osbornes promise of a budget surplus: Britain will live within its means. No more irresponsible borrowing. No morespiralling debt at the taxpayers expense. No more passing the debt to the next generation. In his Conservative conference speech on 5 October of this year, Sunak elevated balancing the books to a sacred responsibility. It was this superstitious fear of government borrowing even with interest rates at record lows that drove his initialreluctance to extend the furlough scheme.

In 2010, heedless of the threat of a double-dip recession, Osborne imposed austerity on the United Kingdom. In 2020, heedless of the threat of a second coronavirus wave, Sunak similarly withdrew economicsupport. And on 25 November, with eerie symmetry, Sunak used the spending review to announce the return of the public sector pay freeze imposed by Osborne a decade ago. Though average real earnings inthe public sector are 1.5 per cent lower than in 2010, only NHS workers and the lowest paid were spared.

The loose talk of a V-shaped economic recovery that dominated much of the summers political conversation has dissipated. Though GDP rose by a record 15.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, the economyremains 9.7 per cent smaller than it was before the Covid crisis. Following the second national lockdown in England, forecasters expect the UK economy to shrink once more.

The consolation for Britain is the advance towards a Covid-19 vaccine, or vaccines perhaps the most potent stimulus. Once the economy truly reopens, sectors such as hospitality, leisure and travel shouldrapidly recover. Affluent consumers who have saved during the pandemic household savings rose by 100bn in the first six months of this year will rush to spend as animalspirits are unlocked.

[See also: How the UKs economic problems began long before the pandemic]

The history of pandemics shows that people want to go out afterwards, said Torsten Bell. Thats why the Twenties were called the Roaring Twenties, with new dances like the Charleston invented. Thehedonism was in part a reaction to coming out of the Spanish flu pandemic.

A renewed hedonism, or exuberance of spirits, will not compensate for the original economic shock, however. The OBR forecasts that the economy will be 3 per cent smaller in 2025 than previously expected. Justas coronavirus sufferers report enduring symptoms, so the UK will suffer a form of long economic Covid.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto vowed to level up the poorer regions of the UK, while simultaneously avoiding major tax rises and maintaining strict limits on borrowing. It seemed like an unrealistic promiseeven then. And Covid-19 has rendered the have-cake-and-eat-it economics favoured by Johnson and his enablers unviable. In order to meet their spending promises, the Conservatives will be forced either torelinquish their fiscal hawkishness as the US Republicans have done orraise taxes.

Sunak has already annexed several policies from Labours doomed 2019 manifesto: the creation of a national infrastructure bank, the establishment of a Treasury HQ in the north of England, and the rewriting ofthe departments investment rules to end a pro-southern bias. He may yet raise corporation tax, as John McDonnell would have done, from 19 per cent to 24 per cent, and tax capital gains at the same rate asincome.

***

The pandemic, combined with Brexit, has intensified the UKs economic identity crisis. Its present model is a strange fusion of social-democratic welfarism (the NHS, the second highest spending on family benefitsin the OECD), neoliberalism (market-driven globalisation, privatised utilities, an ultra-flexible labour market) and, now, populist Keynesianism.

Rather than Brexit heralding a new economic order, as was predicted by some on the Tory benches, the UK is more likely to muddle through, as it often does. In common with other Western states, the country thatit increasingly resembles is Japan, which has anaemic growth, high national debt and an ageing population. Whatever the democratic justification for Brexit, the notion that it will open the way for national revivalis a consoling delusion.

It would be a mistake to speak of Covid-19 ravaging an otherwise healthy economy. For too many people, the pandemic merely felt like a new chapter in an unending crisis. Owing to welfare cuts, the poorest tenthof households in the UK were already no better off in 2018-19 than they were in 2001-02. Low levels of unemployment have long hidden the problem of underemployment: a lack of adequate full-time or good,secure, well-paid jobs. Covid-19 has interacted with social deprivation to lethal effect.

The UK has suffered for not building back better from the 2008 financial crisis and from the free-market shock therapy of the 1980s. Its economy is characterised by a lack of investment and exports, antiquatedinfrastructure and a public realm degraded by austerity. After the worst pandemic in a century, building back better has onlybecome harder.

[See also:Boris Johnson has failed to adapt his economic policy to vaccine success]*/]]]]>]]>

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The year that shook the economy - New Statesman

Sale of the offshore construction & cable-lay vessel Connector – PRNewswire

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Ocean Yield ASA ("Ocean Yield" or "Company") has today entered into an agreement to sell the offshore construction and cable-lay vessel Connector to a third party. The vessel is expected to be delivered to the buyer during the fourth quarter.

Connector is a highly advanced subsea construction & cable-lay vessel that was operating on a long-term bareboat charter until February 2017. In anticipation of a market recovery, Ocean Yield has for the past years traded the vessel in the short-term market. As the market has remained challenging, Connector has contributed negatively to both net profit and cash flow.

Considering the current weak outlook for the oil service segment and that an industrial setup is required to operate the vessel efficiently in the cable-lay market, Ocean Yield believes it is in the best interest of the Company to dispose of the vessel as this will reduce the portfolio risk and improve net profit and cash flow. The sale will therefore strengthen the Company's dividend capacity going forward.

The sale will be cash flow neutral after settlement of debt related to the vessel. Ocean Yield will record a non-cash book loss related to the sale of approximately USD 70 million in the Q4 2020 financial statements. The Company expects only a marginal decrease in the book equity ratio at the end of Q4 compared to Q3, mainly explained by a reduction in total assets due to the sale of Connector and prepayment of debt.

CONTACT:

Company contact:Eirik Eide (CFO), Tel +47 24 13 01 91

Investor Relations contact:Marius Magelie (SVP Finance & Investor Relations), Tel +47 24 13 01 82

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/ocean-yield/r/sale-of-the-offshore-construction---cable-lay-vessel-connector,c3249582

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Sale of the offshore construction & cable-lay vessel Connector - PRNewswire

Coalition of Florida businesses call on Congress to oppose offshore finfish farming – WMNF – WMNF

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A group of 42 Florida businesses Wednesday sent a letter to the States congressional delegation asking it to block a proposed industrial finfish farm off the coast of Sarasota.

Businesses all along the Gulf of Mexico warn of disastrous effects to the environment and the Gulfs tourism industry.

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In an economic climate already decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gulf businesses warned Congress turning the Gulfs federal waters into an economic experiment could be a death knell to tourism in the state.

Signers representing hotels; bars and restaurants; commercial and recreational fishing; retail and more wrote we must ensure that existing local businesses can bring back jobs and continue to create new opportunities for workers in our communities. If allowed to expand, this harmful industry will undermine that recovery process.

Advocates for offshore finfish farms say its an opportunity to increase domestic seafood yield. But Marianne Cufone, executive director of Recirculating Farms said its an experiment thats already failing around the globe.

Offshore finfish farming has been very problematic globally, Cufone said. In fact, so much so that other countries that have been previously considered world leaders in aquaculture, like Canada and Denmark, are moving away from the practice because its been so detrimental to their environment and economy.

In the last few months alone, Canada has recommitted itself to moving away from offshore net pen farms and Denmarks Environment Minister said the sea should not be a dustbin as she proposed legislation to move more fish farming to land.

An executive order from the Trump administration and legislation drafted by Sen. Marco Rubio cleared the way for the U.S.s first offshore aquaculture an open water cage for farmed finfish. The proposed Velella Epsilon project would put a floating fish farm about 45 miles west of Sarasota. Thats where parent company Ocean Era would raise about 20,000 Almaco Jack in a specially designed net pen.

U.S. federal waters in the Gulf are being eyed as areas of opportunity. Meaning one offshore farm would only be the beginning.

That doesnt sit well with Bob Zales II. Hes a Panama-based charter boat captain and de facto keeper of the realm for Floridas Gulf waters. Hes a leader in organizations like the National Association of Charter Boat Operators, Panama City Boatmen Association and Florida Guides Association. Hes also the fishery management consultant for the Southern Offshore Fishermens Association, a Madeira Beach-based group that advocates for keeping the Gulf clean and environmentally secure.

We cant take the risk. You look at COVID, everything today is a risk, Zales said. If you dont try to do the best you can to protect what youve got, youre risking your livelihood. Thats what we cant afford to do.

Data from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shows seafood production in Florida accounted for 4,000 jobs and had an economic impact of more than $400 million in 2016 alone.

Zales said allowing offshore farming would take away those jobs and that money.

Whether youre commercial, whether your charter, whether youre private, he said. Without access to areas to fish, you have no opportunity to fish. With no opportunity, you have no fishing.

Its not just the physical space farms take up either. Cufone said farming introduces chemicals and pollutants through feed, antibiotics and waste. That can exacerbate Red Tide, a problem that costs the Gulf Coast and Florida about $20 million a year.

Things coming out of the farm like excess fish feed, fish waste and any chemicals or pharmaceuticals that are used on fish or on the cages to keep them clean, Cufone said. We dont need more of that in our environment. We already have pollution and water quality challenges.

Zales added theres always the threat of escape. Farmed fish can change the structure of an ecosystem. Canada is currently dealing with escaped fish interfering with wild salmon on its west coast. Earlier this week an Australian offshore net farm had an escape of around 130,000 farmed fish.

Zales said even the strongest of cages wouldnt be a match for the increased frequency and strength of storms in the Gulf.

If you look at a hurricane thatll roll through here and knockdown these massive oil production platforms that are built to withstand what they call 100-year-storms and they top them over, he said. I doubt very seriously if theres anybody out there that can create any kind of cage that will be able to withstand such damage from a storm. Youre not gonna convince me theyve got a fool-proof cage out there to do this.

Velella Epsilon has received a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. Its awaiting a construction permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Cufone said its not too late to shift the focus from offshore to land-based fish farming if the U.S. wants to up its domestic production.

Its just a smarter more eco-friendly approach, Cufone said. If we want to move forward with aquaculture in the United States, it ought to be done in recirculating farms.

A majority of seafood in the U.S. is imported. It sometimes comes from domestically sourced seafood thats shipped out for processing before being reimported.

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Coalition of Florida businesses call on Congress to oppose offshore finfish farming - WMNF - WMNF

US Wind Names Offshore Wind Pioneer Jeff Grybowski as CEO – Business Wire

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BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, US Wind Inc. (US Wind) announced that it has named Jeffrey Grybowski as Chief Executive Officer. Grybowski will lead US Wind as the company embarks on development of a major offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland. In August, funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, Apollo) committed to invest up to $265 million in convertible debt and equity to acquire an equity stake in US Wind and fund development and construction costs for its offshore wind project.

Grybowski is the former Chief Executive Officer of Deepwater Wind, the pioneering American offshore wind company. Under Grybowskis leadership over nearly a decade, the company developed and constructed the Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind farm in the United States, and secured a portfolio of offshore wind power contracts across multiple US East Coast states.

We are very excited to have Jeff lead our team at US Wind, said Riccardo Toto, Managing Director of Renexia SpA, the principal owner of US Wind. His experience in navigating the complex development system in the United States is unmatched. We are building an innovative company at US Wind, and Jeff is the perfect person to lead it.

Apollos Brad Fierstein, a member of US Winds board of directors, added, Jeff is a proven leader in US offshore wind, and an excellent addition to the US Wind platform as we execute on our mission to bring clean energy and new jobs to Maryland.

Im thrilled to be joining the US Wind team. We have big plans to deliver offshore wind to the state of Maryland, said Grybowski. This company had a strategic vision for offshore wind in the US long before others in Europe made the jump to this market. We will build on that vision and together with strong financial backing from Apollo Funds, we will make US Wind a major player in the offshore wind space, as a nimble and entrepreneurial company that knows how to execute complex projects in the US.

US Wind was an early mover in the offshore wind sector in the United States by acquiring the 80,000-acre federal lease area off of the coast of Maryland in 2014. In 2017, the Company was awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) from the State of Maryland for the first phase of its MarWin project. In total, the Companys lease area can support approximately 1,500 MW of offshore wind capacity. In 2019, Maryland passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which increased the states offshore wind requirements, calling for an additional 1,200 MW to be procured from developers with projects near Maryland.

About US Wind

US Wind was founded in 2011 and has established its position as a premier offshore wind energy development company in the United States. In 2014, US Wind obtained a federal lease for site control to develop approximately 1.5 GW of offshore wind power generation off the coast of Maryland. US Wind is majority owned by Renexia SpA, a leader in renewable energy development in Italy and a subsidiary of Toto Holding SpA. Toto Holding SpA has more than 40 years of experience specializing in large construction and infrastructure projects, primarily in the energy, transportation, and aviation sectors.

About Apollo

Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $433 billion as of September 30, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit http://www.apollo.com.

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US Wind Names Offshore Wind Pioneer Jeff Grybowski as CEO - Business Wire

With offshore wind, Virginia hopes a 21st-century manufacturing boom will offset a hefty price tag – Virginia Mercury

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First in a series on Virginias transition to a carbon-free electric grid. Tomorrow: What role will utility-scale solar projects play?

Maybe, if you squint really hard and the skies are clear, you might be able to convince yourself that you see them, out on the horizon: two turbines spinning far offshore of Virginia Beach.

You cant, of course the distance to the Dominion Energy-owned offshore wind outpost is too great. Bill Murray, a senior executive with Dominion, describes it this way: Imagine, he says, that the USS Wisconsin, a World War II-era battleship now docked at Norfolk, were to be beached at Sandbridge and from there fire its 16-inch guns, capableof traveling 21 miles. Those guns could not hit these turbines, said Murray.

Until recently, Virginias offshore wind dreams seemed to many an equally long shot. Dominions two test turbines, known as the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot, were a decade in the making. During that time offshore wind boomed in Europe and China, but the U.S., preoccupied with the glut of natural gas unlocked by the shale revolution, made few inroads into the technology. Rhode Islands Block Island wind farm was the nations first offshore wind venture in state waters; Dominions CVOW pilot 27 miles off the coast is the first in federal waters.

Today, however, U.S. enthusiasm for natural gas is wavering, and offshore wind has seen a dramatic upswing in interest. Roughly a dozen major offshore wind projects have been announced along the East Coast with the potential to provide 30 gigawatts of energy to residents of the Atlantic seaboard. Much of the activity has occurred in the maritime states of New England and the upper mid-Atlantic, especially Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. The farther south you go, the less the idea seems to have caught on.

Virginia is a major exception. Here, offshore wind has become the most ambitious and expensive part of the states plan to meet Democratic Gov. Ralph Northams goal of achieving a carbon-free electric grid by 2050. Last December, Dominion announced plans to build the nations largest offshore wind farm in its federal lease area off Virginia Beach at an estimated cost of $8 billion. Wind developer Avangrid, which is behind the Kitty Hawk project in North Carolina, is also eyeing the state as a possible destination for its power, although no contracts have been signed.

Electrically, the easiest place for us to connect is in Virginia Beach, said Eric Thumma, Avangrids senior director of new business for offshore wind.

When Democrats took the majority in both houses of the General Assembly in 2020, they came in with the desire to remake Virginias electric grid. Offshore wind quickly became the most controversial part of their proposals due to its cost and the profits the politically powerful Dominion stood to make from its development. The Virginia Clean Economy Acts declaration that 5.2 gigawatts of the resource more than all of the states nuclear units and its largest gas-fired plant combined is in the public interest provoked a bitter fight that continues to divide Democrats.

Tensions only increased after a ProPublica-Richmond Times-Dispatch investigation earlier this fall uncovered a last-minute change to the law that authorizes Dominion to spend an extra $2.5 billion on its offshore enterprise. Depending on who you ask, the VCEA is either another utility giveaway or a vital part of a clean energy portfolio that will act as an engine for economic growth.

Much of the uneasiness over offshore wind comes down to its cost. Because Dominion is in the generation as well as transmission and distribution business, it reaps profits from building things and the bigger the project, the greater the profits. At an estimated $8 billion, CVOW will be the largest its ever undertaken. A second wind farm of equal size would add billions more to the bottom line.

Offshore wind is necessary, Dominion executives say. We simply cant rely on solar alone or energy efficiency alone to get us to a carbon-free grid, said Katharine Bond, the companys vice president of public policy and state affairs. Industry experts agree wind is an ideal complement to solar because it tends to peak at night and in the winter, when solar is at its lowest. And for Dominion, whose Virginia territory is less well suited to onshore wind than the mountaintop ridges enjoyed by Appalachian Power, that leaves offshore wind as the primary solution.

A carbon-free grid has to be a more diverse grid because of the intermittency of renewables, said Murray. Theres a tendency a little bit in energy policy to say, OK, solar right now is the cheapest renewable, lets just do all solar. And more incremental energy between noon and five is at some point not helpful.

But while few supporters of weaning Virginias grid off carbon think offshore wind shouldnt be part of the portfolio, many caution that Dominion shouldnt be given carte blanche on spending.

Regulators ability to review offshore wind costs remains unclear. The VCEA includes language indicating the commission should sign off on CVOW costs unless certain specific conditions arent met, but even State Corporation Commissioners seemed unsure during hearings this October about how restrictive the law is. Whats the play in the joints that is left after need and cost have been essentially predetermined? Judge Mark Christie asked at one point.

Still, many clean energy advocates say regulators retain ultimate oversight. The Clean Economy Acts language favoring renewables is an expression of the General Assembly that they support this type of generation technology, but its not a mandate for the commission to approve any particular project, energy attorney Will Reisinger told regulators during the same hearings. In an extended legal argument touching on the laws history and wording, Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Will Cleveland said the commission retains ultimate authority over whether a specific proposed offshore wind projects costs are reasonable and prudent.

Whether regulators will agree is a question several months from being answered.

Energy issues, of course, have always been intricately intertwined with economic ones. Dominion has been in the economic development business for decades, said Murray. Electric utilities are for economic development. In a way its altruistic, in a way its self-serving because any type of economic development plugs into the grid.

But offshore wind takes the connection to a new level. Virtually all of the discussion and work surrounding Virginias wind goals center not on energy, but on the economy.

Part of that focus is due to the high threshold for entry into offshore wind development. Because the investments required for the technology are so high and only a limited number of government leases for sites are available, the industrys pool of players is small.

In Virginia right now, Dominion is at the helm. The utility is the only company that owns a lease in federal waters off the states coast. And unlike other utilities to the north, which have relied on non-utilities to develop projects that they then acquire power from, Dominion is actively involved in not only developing but building offshore wind, and it has indicated in its long-range planning that its interested in developing more than the CVOW project, and potentially all 5.2 gigawatts of the offshore target.

Still, other companies like Avangrid and Danish firm rsted, which partnered with Dominion on the CVOW pilot, have signaled strong interest in Virginia. rsted has leased 40 acres at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, and Thumma said Avangrid, which opened an office in Virginia Beach this fall, is open to lots of different opportunities. Siemens Gamesa has also publicly said Hampton Roads is among the locations its considering for a turbine manufacturing facility.

One of the key elements of getting a project done is making sure you have an offtaker, said Bruce Burcat, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition. And what the VCEA does, just like similar types of statutes in states like Maryland or New Jersey or Delaware or Pennsylvania, is there is now a market for the offtake of the energy.

Still, all eyes are on Dominion. How the utility navigates the state and federal permitting processes it has to undergo to get the full CVOW project underway will provide a template for other companies interested in Virginia who may be wary to put down money in these early months.

Theres going to be a reticence to invest until we actually see projects and steel in the waters, said Thumma.

The VCEA doesnt limit wind development to offshore. Onshore wind is folded into the 16,100 megawatt and 600 megawatt targets set for Dominion and Appalachian Power to meet by 2035, and both welcomed proposals for onshore projects this summer.

Still, unlike the flat and windy Midwest, Virginia is less suited to onshore wind, with the most promising areas located along its western ridges in Appalachian Power territory. One of the biggest challenges with Virginia and onshore wind is the wind resources are located in the most difficult terrain, said Director of Mines, Minerals and Energy John Warren. Theres a limited amount of project sites that really fit for large utility-scale onshore wind. To date, only one, the Rocky Forge project developed by Apex Clean Energy, has made it through the permitting process in the commonwealth. Utility executives are expecting more to come. In October, Dominion Director of Integrated Resource Planning Glen Kelly told the SCC that the utility is very open to onshore wind and that it expects the resource to have a more robust presence in the utilitys future planning.

Dominion, for its part, is confident. Pointing to its successful navigation of the federal permitting process for the CVOW pilot a process no other company has completed Dominion executive Bond said the utility has a set of experiences that others in the United States dont necessarily have. With that experience, Dominion is moving swiftly to develop the full CVOW project. After months surveying its lease area and taking core samples to determine how the massive turbines should be engineered, it intends to file its required construction and operations plan with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this December.

The company is also hoping to skirt some of the environmental problems other high-profile projects like Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts have encountered. CVOWs location 27 miles off the coast reduces concerns for birds, said Bond. It limits fisheries impacts as well, although the states 19 black sea bass and conch fishermen remain concerned about how closures due to construction and the presence of 188 turbines, three substations and extensive cabling will affect their livelihood.

The real challenge that were running into is theres not a great roadmap, said Todd Janeski, a fisheries coordinator with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program. Ultimately, how this project does move forward here will inform other efforts down the road.

Ironically, then, with Dominion preparing to file its plans with federal regulators, most of the offshore wind action in Virginia is happening on dry land.

These preparations are all about the economy. Because offshore wind turbines require manufacturing on a monumental scale and the U.S. has no supply chain in place to build them, states from Massachusetts to Virginia are scrambling to position themselves as offshore wind hubs that can not only operate new wind farms but manufacture and maintain the parts that run them.

Were trying to create an industry from scratch, said Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, an economic development group closely involved in bringing offshore wind to Virginia.

Local and state officials, as well as regional business groups, think Hampton Roads is one of the best candidates for the role. The region possesses a deepwater port that, thanks to the U.S. naval base at Norfolk, isnt obstructed by bridges that could block vessels ferrying turbine components out to sea. The Navys presence has also fostered a robust manufacturing sector thats oriented toward shipbuilding but could easily expand into offshore wind. And Dominion has plans underway to develop a Hampton Roads-based vessel capable of installing wind turbine components a major hole in the U.S. portfolio.

Theres no harbor or port that has the existing infrastructure and workforce that Virginia has, said Chris Gullickson, director of economic development for the Port of Virginia.

Virginia has already committed significant resources to convincing the fledgling industry that Hampton Roads is the ideal site for a hub, though it has also reached an agreement with North Carolina and Maryland to collaborate in promoting the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic as a regional center for the new energy source. The states 2020 budget included $40 million for upgrades at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, primarily dealing with soil stabilization and reinforcement that will ensure the port can handle parts of turbines that will stand taller than the Washington Monument and have blades longer than seven football fields placed end to end.

This is the last small piece that we need that will make a huge difference to the industry, said Jennifer Palestrant, chief deputy of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

Meanwhile, the 2020 General Assembly established a new Division of Offshore Wind within the department that Palestrant said aims to be the convener for how we develop offshore wind and allotted $375,000 to stand the new office up. Among the new partners for the division? The Hampton Roads Alliance, which this September was awarded more than half a million dollars in state GO Virginia grant funds to help develop the offshore wind supply chain. The funding followed the groups establishment this summer of an office in Frankfurt, Germany, that will allow the Alliance to explore partnerships in Europe, where Smith said the major players of the industry are. One consultancy, PM&P, has been working with the Alliance to develop a strategic plan for how Hampton Roads can attract offshore wind manufacturers.

Along the East Coast, theres going to be a limited number of hubs around the supply chain, said Smith. We want to really understand what that looks like.

One thing is clear: if Hampton Roads becomes one of the East Coasts top offshore wind hubs, Virginias looking at a lot of new jobs. One study by Mangum Economics estimates that for every gigawatt of offshore wind developed, Virginia could see 5,200 new jobs annually.

Most of those are likely to be local to Hampton Roads. The VCEA sets no firm quotas for the hiring of Virginia workers for wind farms, although it does require Dominion to draft a plan for how it will use both local workers and veterans in building out its project a provision Southeastern Wind Coalition President Katharine Kollins said is nebulous but important.

Still, she pointed out, offshore wind energy production is labor intensive.

A solar farm takes care of itself, she said. An offshore wind project needs daily operations and maintenance on at least one of the turbines. Youve got folks out there every single day who are ensuring these things are running.

The more manufacturing operations Virginia attracts, the more that workforce is likely to grow as other states build out their projects.

Its not just our project. If you look at the queue, the pipeline of projects up and down the East Coast continues to grow, said Dominion spokesperson Rayhan Daudani. You develop that workforce not just to construct the 2.6 gigawatts and then have the ongoing (operations and maintenance), but all up and down the East Coast there will be the opportunity to train them here, hire them here.

One potential game changer would be the development of Dominions offshore wind vessel. Currently the only ships capable of installing offshore wind infrastructure are European, but the federal Jones Act bars foreign ships from carrying shipments between U.S. ports. If the utility can get its vessel in operation by 2023 as planned, it would prove a major inducement for manufacturers to locate near its home base of Hampton Roads.

Training, of course, will be necessary. Theres only a handful of people in Virginia that are qualified to even step foot on a turbine, said Paul Olsen, executive director of programs and partnerships at Old Dominion University, which has partnered with DMME to help advance offshore wind in the state. We need to create hundreds of skilled positions.

Officials are looking to Virginias community and technical colleges, as well as manufacturers, to help fill the gap. In October, Gov. Northam announced the creation of a new training alliance to offer certifications for offshore wind work. Partners include Martinsvilles New College Institute, Centura College and Norfolks Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy. And officials like Palestrant said they expect skills from Hampton Roads existing maritime industry to be easily transferable.

The technical colleges are already very very interested in providing programs for students to then go straight into these jobs, said Kollins. Once we see the development really start to take place youre really going to see more and more students entering these courses knowing theres a job for them at the end of the day.

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With offshore wind, Virginia hopes a 21st-century manufacturing boom will offset a hefty price tag - Virginia Mercury

An offshore wind farm with the ability to power one million households’ is fully up and running – CNBC

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The Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm is located in waters off the coast of Zeeland, the Netherlands.

Orsted

A major offshore wind farm in the Netherlands is now fully operational, with its owners, Danish energy firm Orsted, claiming it provides enough green electricity to power one million households.

Situated 23 kilometers (around 14.3 miles) off the coast of Zeeland, in the southwest of the Netherlands, the 752 megawatt (MW) Borssele 1 & 2 offshore wind farm spans an area of 112 square kilometers. It uses 94 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa.

In an announcement Friday, Orsted described the facility as the second-largest operating offshore wind farm in the world. The largest, Hornsea One, has a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW) and was also developed by Orsted.

News of Borssele 1 & 2's commissioning is the latest example of European countries embracing offshore wind and comes after the European Union said it wanted to increase its offshore wind capacity from 12 to 300 GW by 2050.

The "Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy" from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, also aims for 40 GW of ocean energy such as tidal and wave power within the same time frame.

A number of major offshore wind projects located in European waters are now in the pipeline. These include the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in Britain, which left the EU in January 2020.

A 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor, the Dogger Bank facility will have a total capacity of 3.6 GW once completed, making it the largest in the world.

At the end of last week, it was announced that a deal to fund the first two phases of the project had been completed. According to SSE, investment for Dogger Bank A and B will amount to approximately 6 billion (around $8 billion).

While Europe is now home to a mature offshore wind sector, the one in the U.S. is still relatively new.

The country's first offshore wind farm the 30 MW, five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm, which is also operated by Orsted only started commercial operations at the end of 2016.

The next few years could see the sector develop, however, with companies starting to invest large amounts of money in schemes located off the East Coast.

Back in September, for instance, oil and gas giant BP took 50% stakes in Equinor's Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects, which are located off the coasts of New York State and Massachusetts respectively.

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An offshore wind farm with the ability to power one million households' is fully up and running - CNBC

‘Truly incredible’: Missing Florida boater found alive clinging to capsized vessel 86 miles offshore – USA TODAY

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62-year-old Stuart Bee was was spotted by crew members on the container ship Angeles, 86 miles east of Port Canaveral, Florida. USA TODAY

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. Clinging to the bow of his capsized boat, 62-year-old Stuart Bee was stranded alone at sea Sunday morning roughly 86 miles east of Port Canaveral.

Crew members aboard the 225-foot container ship Angeles spotted Bee and rescued him about 11a.m. EDT, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class David Micallef said.

Bee departed Cape Marina at Port Canaveral about 4 p.m. Friday aboard Stingray, his 32-foot Sea Ray. He was reported missing shortly before noon Saturday by a marina memberwho told Coast Guard officials that Bee typically does not stay out overnight on his boat.

Stuart Bee was rescued Sunday morning after his boat capsized roughly 86 miles east of Port Canaveral.(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Bee's boat became disabled at sea because of a mechanical problem,Micallef said. About midnight Saturday, Bee was awakened because his crippled craft was taking on water in the darkness.

When theAngeles approached Sunday morning, Bee took off his shirt and waved it to attract attention,Micallef said.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel,including a C-130 Hercules aircraft crew based in Clearwater,had searched for Bee and his boat early Sunday.

Stuart Bee , 62, swims from his stricken boat early Sunday after being spotted 86 miles off Port Canaveral. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Its an amazing story. Were just very thankful for the motor vessel Angeles and their entire crew for keeping a sharp lookout, Micallef said. And we're just very thankful, especially during this holiday season, that we can bring this man home to his family.

Micallef said Coast Guard officials had issued an enhanced group call a transmission intended for larger vessels crossingthe area to look out for Bee's Sea Ray.

According to Vessel Finder, Angeles is a container ship built in 2010 that sails under the flag of Liberia. Angeles was en route from the Port of Puerto Barrios in Guatemalato the Port of Wilmington in Delaware.

Their crew spotted the vessel capsized. And as they approached it, they saw the man clinging to it,"Micallef said.

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol plane also searched for the missing mariner.

"Saving lives at sea is our highest calling," Capt.MarkVlaun, commander ofCoast GuardSector Jacksonville, said in a news release Sunday afternoon. "This is a truly incredible outcome that demonstrates the bond among all mariners and our community."

Follow Rick Neale on Twitter:@RickNeale1.

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'Truly incredible': Missing Florida boater found alive clinging to capsized vessel 86 miles offshore - USA TODAY

GLDD plans to build offshore wind rock installation vessel – Marine Log

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Written byNickBlenkey

Image: Grear Lakes Dredge & Dock

Gearing up for future U.S. offshore wind development, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) has engaged Ulstein Design & Solutions B.V. to undertake conceptual and regulatory design engineering for what will be the first U.S.-flagged, Jones Act compliant, inclined fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation.

GLDD says the vessel represents a critical advancement in building the future of the new U.S. offshore wind industry, which will include establishing a U.S.-based rock supply chain network spanning eastern seaboard states with active offshore wind leases.

Pending federal permitting and regulatory approvals as well as a final investment decision, the vessel will be operational as early as first quarter 2024, to coincide with major offshore wind project construction timelines.

Designed to state-of-the-art specifications, the vessel will be built to the highest maritime standards, including best-in-class air-quality controls to adhere to EPA Tier 4 emissions standards. It will be built on the Gulf Coast and, while the vessel initially would serve the East Coast, GLDD believes it will be available as offshore wind projects develop along the Gulf and West Coasts.

The vessel is expected to help spur additional job growth and regional economic opportunities corresponding with the establishment of a U.S.-based rock supply chain network for subsea rock installation, with quarries in states along the East Coast.

U.S. offshore winds potential growth could be a true economic stimulus for America. We believe this is the optimal time for us to leverage our extensive specialized vessel expertise to enter this exciting market now coming to the United States, said Lasse Petterson, GLDDs chief executive officer and president. We are initiating this project because we firmly believe that a Jones Act compliant offshore wind subsea rock installation vessel is a critical foundational piece required to advance the U.S. offshore wind energy industry. We are committed to safe and sustainable operations and excited to make history with this landmark vessel.

As the leading U.S. dredging company and with 130+ years experience and expertise in dredging, marine engineering, specialized vessel design and safe offshore operations, GLDD believes its move into the offshore wind energy industry is a natural business progression.

We applaud GLDDs foresight and decisive action in entering this potentially transformative new industry in its early days. Their new vessel will complete another major piece of the offshore wind industry puzzle, said Liz Burdock, CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind. This milestone brings our nation one step closer to realizing the substantial benefits from clean energy including the economic growth from projects, supply chain development, and job creation.

We look forward to playing a key role in developing this new industry on the eastern seaboard that will provide multidimensional benefits to our nation, concluded Petterson. The full potential direct, indirect and induced economic benefits of offshore wind development have yet to be calculated because the various aspects and value of the supply chain are still unknown and yet to be developed. The potential impacts are staggering.

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GLDD plans to build offshore wind rock installation vessel - Marine Log

Global Offshore Wind Cable Market 2020-2024: COVID-19 Analysis, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Threats – Technavio – Business Wire

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The offshore wind cable market is expected to grow by USD 655.89 million, progressing at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period.

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The growing offshore renewable energy installations is one of the major factors propelling market growth. However, factors such as higher investments needed in offshore projects will hamper market growth.

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Offshore Wind Cable Market: Geographic Landscape

By geography, Europe is going to have a lucrative growth during the forecast period. About 75% of the markets overall growth is expected to originate from Europe. UK, Germany, and France are the key markets for Offshore Wind Cable Market in Europe.

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Global Offshore Wind Cable Market 2020-2024: COVID-19 Analysis, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Threats - Technavio - Business Wire

US Offshore Wind Industry Getting First Subsea Rock Installation Vessel – Offshore WIND

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Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) is developing the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act compliant vessel for subsea rock installation.

Ulstein Design and Solutions is in charge of the conceptual and regulatory design engineering of the inclined fallpipe vessel.

GLDDs vessel will be built by a U.S. shipyard on the Gulf Coast. While it would initially serve the East Coast, the company believes it will be available as offshore wind projects develop along the Gulf and West Coasts.

Pending federal permitting and regulatory approvals, as well as a final investment decision, the vessel will be operational as early as Q1 2024, to coincide with major offshore wind project construction timelines.

According to GLDD, the vessel represents a critical advancement in establishing a U.S.-based rock supply chain network spanning eastern seaboard states with active offshore wind leases.

U.S. offshore winds potential growth could be a true economic stimulus for America. We believe this is the optimal time for us to leverage our extensive specialized vessel expertise to enter this exciting market now coming to the United States, said Lasse Petterson, GLDDs CEO and President.

We are initiating this project because we firmly believe that a Jones Act compliant offshore wind subsea rock installation vessel is a critical foundational piece required to advance the U.S. offshore wind energy industry.

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US Offshore Wind Industry Getting First Subsea Rock Installation Vessel - Offshore WIND

EGEB: US offshore wind workers to get virtual reality training in Maryland – Electrek

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In todays Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

rsted is partnering with Marylands Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) to provide a new virtual reality (VR) offshore wind energy training program starting next year.

rsted is one of two developers working to bring a 120-megawatt wind farm online by 2023 off the Ocean City, Maryland, coastline. It will feature up to 12 wind turbines.

Offshore wind students will navigate through a simulation of rsteds Ocean Wind and Revolution Wind projects that are being built off the New Jersey and Rhode Island coasts using virtual reality.

rsted and MITAGS are using VR because the US currently only has Block Island in Rhode Island online, so students would have to travel to Europe. rsted provided MITAGS with a grant and project specifications to develop the model used in the simulator, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Anyone who works in either building or maintaining wind turbines will be required to complete the new course. The Atlantic Coast offshore wind project pipeline is expected to support up to 86,000 jobs, according to the US Department of Energy.

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) yes, you read that right is a voluntary CEO-led initiative that aims to accelerate the industry response to climate change. It represents around 30% of global oil and gas production, with 62 participating companies. The report claims to have driven change across four areas:

Electreks Take: Its really hard to not be cynical about this group. Just the name, Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, seems ridiculous. Exxon isnt even trying, and the only true way to reduce emissions and address the climate crisis is to switch to green energy. Methane reduction is great, but those targets need to be stronger. Further, exploring feasibility in decarbonizing transport comes across as completely inert.

However, the UN Environment Program is a bit more optimistic. It feels that collaborative programs are positive, as the fossil fuel industry can be fragmented. It wants everyone on board. In other words, its easier to keep an eye on them if theyre together in a group. Fair enough. But this is only 30% of the oil and gas industry.

The Environmental Defense Funds president, Fred Krupp, said of the initiative:

Thanks to the 62 companies for committing to measure, report, and reduce pollution from their core operations and joint ventures. This will be the basis for robust standards in Europe, and beyond, that ensure the oil industry takes the practical actions urgently needed for our climate.

So its better than nothing. Just five years ago, this would have been unimaginable.

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EGEB: US offshore wind workers to get virtual reality training in Maryland - Electrek

Boskalis Boosts Its Offshore Wind Fleet with Boka Tiamat – Offshore WIND

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Boskalis will add a multipurpose DP2 vessel Boka Tiamat to its fleet in January 2021, the company said via social media on 3 December, and will deploy the vessel on offshore wind projects in Taiwan.

The offshore construction vessel was built by VARD BRATVAAG and delivered as a new-build in 2019. It has been retrofitted with a 1,300 kW SeaQ Energy Storage System, which will reduce fuel consumption and emissions during DP operations, according to Boskalis.

By adding the Boka Tiamat to our fleet we take another step towards realizing our sustainability ambitions for our vessels, the company said in a social media post.

The 98-metre vessel features a 120-tonne active heave compensation offshore knuckle jib crane with main winch on crane, and can accommodate 82 people in 54 cabins.

In Taiwan, Boskalis will also deploy its Bokalift 2, a drillship currently being converted into an offshore installation vesselat Drydocks World in Dubai. The vessel will be operated by BoWei Offshore, a joint venture between Boskalis and Hwa Chi construction.

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Boskalis Boosts Its Offshore Wind Fleet with Boka Tiamat - Offshore WIND

Touting Potential Economic Benefits, Crescent City Harbor District Commissions Offshore Wind Energy Study – Lost Coast Outpost

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Jessica Cejnar / Tuesday, Dec. 1 @ 5:51 p.m. Touting Potential Economic Benefits, Crescent City Harbor District Commissions Offshore Wind Energy Study

Harbor commissioners have commissioned a study focusing on offshore wind energy production in Del Norte County similar this Portugal project. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy

Though the Crescent City Harbor District will move forward with a study on the pluses and minuses of offshore wind energy production to Del Norte County, the decision wasnt unanimous.

When making the case for a $12,000 partnership with Humboldt State Universitys Schatz Energy Research Center to fund the study, commissioners Brian Stone and Wes White on Tuesday touted the potential economic benefits wind energy production could bring to the harbor.

The Crescent City Harbor District could house offices and maintenance facilities, berths for boats that would work on the offshore wind turbines as well as substations for pumping that electricity into the grid, they said.

However, their colleagues Carol White and Rick Shepherd, a commercial fisherman, said they were concerned about the environmental impacts those turbines would have on Del Norte County waters.

The Crescent City Harbor District Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of the Schatz Energy study. Carol White and Rick Shepherd dissented.

The ocean has been my workplace for the last 48 years, Shepherd said. To change it in the way youre talking about changing it, I couldnt vote for it. I know its going to happen. Its in the future. But its a sad day for me when I see something like that go on the ocean.

During his presentation, Wes White noted Californias goals to go to clean energy by 2045, the benefits of wind as a renewable energy source over solar and other offshore projects in Scotland, Portugal, Maine and Virginia.

Wes White argued that offshore wind energy would be a cheaper more reliable energy source for Del Norte County and could be used as an impetus to get high power usage companies to relocate to Crescent City.

We believe this study will shed light on the pluses and minuses of such a project offshore of Del Norte County, Wes White said, adding that he and Stone have researched the possibility of wind energy production in local waters. My sense is we need to be as knowledgeable as we can about this stuff because its going to happen somewhere offshore (in) California.

Stone noted that in the last two weeks California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order announcing that the state will end the sale of gasoline and diesel-powered cars by 2035. He also referred to potential wind energy development in Humboldt County, saying its something like five years out, maybe six years out.

We may be a little bit further down the road, but weve already spoken to investors and all of them have indicated with a 95 percent-plus certainty that this is the area where they want to locate, Stone said. What we need to do is understand whats going on. We need to have something in our hands so we can discuss how we manage whats going to happen.

Stone said that the potential for having a substation and other infrastructure supporting offshore wind energy projects at the harbor would help keep slip rates low for the fishing fleet and would help the keep the port in the black in the future.

I think this is seed money thats needed to keep us in the know and help us all understand what is possible, he said.

Following her colleagues presentation, Carol White said based on her research, land-based wind turbines have caused a lot of ecological damage, impacting animals as well as humans that live nearby.

Plus the last article I read said it cost up to four times more to put these out on the ocean as opposed to putting them on land, Carol White said. Im with Rick I dont think we should be messing with the ocean at this point, especially when fishermen are struggling to make ends meet.

Shepherd also brought up the land-based wind turbine projects, pointing out the negative impacts they have on bird populations. He drew a comparison with regulations developed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to reduce whale entanglements in crab gear following a 2017 lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Those birds on the ocean are the ones we rely on to make our living, Shepherd said. Itll be OK for wind energy mills to slaughter millions of birds, but fishermen are getting shut down for a whale. I just really dislike the whole idea.

Commissioner Jim Ramsey, who sat in on his final meeting after choosing not to seek re-election, took a more neutral approach.

I am in favor of getting off of fossil fuel dependency, he said. Its a mess and its really destroying our environment.

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Touting Potential Economic Benefits, Crescent City Harbor District Commissions Offshore Wind Energy Study - Lost Coast Outpost

RWE eyes ‘sizeable positions’ in East Asian and US offshore wind markets – Recharge

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RWE Renewables is striving to obtain a substantial share of the offshore wind market in the US and key East Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, as the German utility is pushing to expand beyond it European core markets, the companys offshore wind head said.

We want to hold sizable positions in every market we operate in to realise economies of scale, Sven Utermhlen, Chief Operating Officer Wind Offshore Global of RWE Renewables, told Recharge.

Out of the utilitys 22GW global project development pipeline, more than 7GW are in offshore wind, a volume that could increase as RWE Renewables is also considering taking part in more tenders for wind at sea. The company has earmarked 5bn ($6.05bn) net in renewable energy spending by the end of 2022 to add to its operating renewable portfolio of 13GW net.

East Asian seas

Plans for an expansion in East Asian seas are already well underway.

In the Asia-Pacific region, we see good growth opportunities for offshore wind, for example in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. These countries have plans to considerably increase the role of offshore wind energy in the electricity production - and we want to be part of this development.

RWE already has opened offices in Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul to drive its offshore wind business in the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Currently, we are working together on a feasibility study for an offshore project off the coast of Yurihonjo City in Akita Prefecture, Utermhlen said.

We firmly expect the Japanese offshore wind industry to gain momentum, as the country not only has excellent wind resources, but also sees offshore wind energy as a key factor in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

The company early last year had signed a first cooperation agreement with Kyuden Mirai Energy to jointly develop offshore wind projects in Japan.

The country last month had formally launched its first offshore wind tender, for fixed-bottom projects off Akita and Chiba prefectures, as part of an attempt to get 10GW of wind projects up and running off Japan by 2030.

In Taiwan, Asias biggest offshore wind market outside mainland China, RWE has partnered with Asia Cement Corporation to further develop the Chu Feng offshore wind project, and intends to participate in the next grid allocation round in the island nation.

With a planned installed capacity of up to 448MW, it will be located off the northwest coast of Taiwan near Hsinchu City, in the wind-rich Taiwan Strait.

US push

RWE Renewabless other big offshore expansion area outside Europe is the US, where the company already is a major onshore wind, PV and storage player.

Based on our established US business and team and our European offshore experience it is a natural strategic step for us to expand into offshore wind technology in the US. The US coastline offers globally one of the best untapped potential for offshore wind, Utermhlen marveled, adding that RWE is focusing on getting access to a number of attractive lease areas.

So far, the companys efforts to establish itself in the growing US offshore wind market alongside other European majors such as Orsted or Iberdrola have been modest, though.

RWE Renewables together with the University of Maine and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi is developing the 12MW Aqua Ventus 1 floating demonstrator project, as part of its efforts to push floating wind projects world-wide.

The purpose of the demonstration project is to further evaluate the floating technology, monitor environmental factors and develop best practices for offshore wind to coexist with traditional marine activities, Utermhlen explained.

We are relying on floating offshore wind, because we believe that this technology has great potential, especially for countries with deeper coastal waters, such as, for example, the US or Japan.

Aqua Ventus vs AquaVentus

The US floating project is not to be confused with a massive plan wind power-to-hydrogen plan around the German North Sea island of Heligoland, which also has the name AquaVentus (but without a space between Aqua and Ventus as in the US floating project).

The AquaVentus initiative aims to use electricity from offshore wind farms to operate floating electrolysers at an industrial scale with the island Heligoland as a central hub, Utermhlen said.

Our wind farms on site Nordsee Ost, Amrumbank West and in the future Kaskasi are ideal for this. The plans of the initiative envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2035, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen.

RWE is part of the AquaVentus initiative, which, however is still in an early development phase.

How seriously the utility is taking (the German) AquaVentus and other hydrogen plans is shown by the fact that the utility already employs 250 people that work on 30 projects in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

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RWE eyes 'sizeable positions' in East Asian and US offshore wind markets - Recharge

RWE plans to produce hydrogen directly at pilot offshore wind turbines in Germany – Recharge

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RWE Renewables plans to produce hydrogen directly at two offshore wind turbines in the German North Sea, the company revealed as part of a PR video on WindTV during the WindEnergy Hamburg industry conference.

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The green hydrogen will be produced from electrolysers directly integrated at the base of the tower of two 14MW turbines to be installed close to the island of Heligoland in a pilot phase of the AquaVentus initiative, which has the long-term goal to produce hydrogen from 10GW of offshore wind capacity close to the island by 2035.

The two units will be connected to the grid via a pipeline. It was not immediately clear when they are expected to enter into normal operating mode.

To date, there is no 14MW wind turbine on the market, but Siemens Gamesa said its SG14.0-222DD model is expected be commercially available by 2024.

The initiative spearheaded by Heligoland mayor Jrg Singer during the summer said it plans to build a first 30MW of electrolyser capacity called AquaPrimus by 2025, connected to a hydrogen pipeline to the island. The size would almost match the 28MW of the two turbines now mentioned by RWE.

AquaVentus is one of the largest of a growing list of offshore wind-to-hydrogen projects that also includes the North2 project by Shell, Eneco and Groningen Seaports that aims at feeding electrolysers with power from 10GW offshore wind farms in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

Industrial scale floating electrolysers

RWE Renewables chief executive Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath in the video urged that the use of green hydrogen needs to be scaled up quickly, and stressed the crucial role government policies play for the ramp up of the green gas.

We should strive for dedicated hydrogen targets by [EU] member states to support the European hydrogen strategy, Dotzenrath said.

We need to reflect hydrogen in renewables build-out targets as it comes on top of existing renewable targets.

Sven Utermhlen, Chief Operating Officer Wind Offshore Global of RWE Renewables, in an interview told Recharge this week that the AquaVentus initiative plans to operate floating electrolysers at an industrial scale with the island Heligoland as a central hub.

Our wind farms on site Nordsee Ost, Amrumbank West and in the future Kaskasi are ideal for this. The plans of the initiative envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10GW by 2035, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen, he added.

An innovation cluster including the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Federation, the Offshore Wind Foundation and the municipality of Heligoland together with business and research actors will develop a strategy paper for the German government by 2022 on how to put the AquaVentus vision into practice, the initiative said earlier this year.

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RWE plans to produce hydrogen directly at pilot offshore wind turbines in Germany - Recharge

The Global Offshore Wind Turbine Market is expected to grow by 54975 MT during 2020-2024 progressing at a CAGR of 24% during the forecast period -…

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New York, Dec. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Offshore Wind Turbine Market 2020-2024" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05060934/?utm_source=GNW Our reports on offshore wind turbine market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the government support for wind energy projects and rise in offshore installations. In addition, government support for wind energy projects is anticipated to boost the growth of the market as well. The offshore wind turbine market analysis includes substructures segment and geographical landscapes

The offshore wind turbine market is segmented as below: By Substructures Monopiles Gravity foundation Others

By Geographical Landscapes EMEA APAC Americas

This study identifies the decline in LCOE for wind power generation as one of the prime reasons driving the offshore wind turbine market growth during the next few years.

The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our offshore wind turbine market covers the following areas: Offshore wind turbine market sizing Offshore wind turbine market forecast Offshore wind turbine market industry analysis

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05060934/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The Global Offshore Wind Turbine Market is expected to grow by 54975 MT during 2020-2024 progressing at a CAGR of 24% during the forecast period -...

Dry conditions and warmer daytime highs remain in the forecast as offshore flow continues – KSBY San Luis Obispo News

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The second day of December will start out with cool morning lows from the 30s across most inland valley locations before temperatures climb to the 60s and 70s by the afternoon.

Northeasterly winds will continue through the morning hours before a possible shift out of the northwest by the afternoon. During the afternoon, wind speeds could reach 15-25 miles per hour, and as a result, the northwesterly flow could result in the return of the marine layer Wednesday night through Thursday morning. It's important to note that although the sunny skies and warmer temperatures may feel pleasant, the Central Coast remains in an abnormally dry state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. As a result, this means vegetation and soil are dry and fire danger remains a concern.

By Wednesday afternoon, daytime highs at the coast will range from the mid-60s to low 70s while most valley locations will range from the mid-60s to upper 70s.

At the coast, a high surf advisory will go into effect at 6 a.m. Thursday and last until 10 p.m. Friday as breaking waves range from 10-14 feet. The advisory will cover San Luis Obispo County's and northern Santa Barbara County's coastline.

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Dry conditions and warmer daytime highs remain in the forecast as offshore flow continues - KSBY San Luis Obispo News

What are offshore renewables? And how do they work? – Euronews

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In a world increasingly affected by climate change, burning fossil fuels is no longer a long-term option.

Thankfully, the natural world around us offers plenty of opportunities for clean, renewable energy. The ocean is one of them.

Today there are three main sources of offshore renewables. This is how they work.

Today, wind farms are the most popular type of offshore renewable and compared to wind farms on land, they have many advantages:

"How an offshore wind farm works is actually very easy and fascinating as well", explains Lizet Ramirez, an offshore wind analyst from WindEurope.

When the wind blows, the turbine blades spin. The blades are connected to a series of mechanisms that increase the spin speed. This energy is then transmitted to a generator.

"It's like if you think of a fan but the opposite", adds Ramirez.

The generator transforms that kinetic energy into electricity. The power is then sent to a substation, a point where the electricity produced in the wind farm is collected. After that, a transformer will change the voltage to a higher level and the energy will be sent to houses onshore.

Offshore wind energy is helping to mitigate climate change. But one of the biggest challenges is that the infrastructure remains expensive to build and maintain. Wind farms can face harsh weather conditions, such as storms and hurricanes.

Currently, European engineers are working on solutions and the industry is already reducing costs.

"The technology has evolved", says Christoph Zipf, press and communications manager from WindEurope. "Turbines got bigger, but also because of scale effects. The more we learn, the cheaper they get".

Zipf also highlights that today, offshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe: it's cheaper than all fossil fuels.

What about the ocean itself? Waves contain a lot of energy and many companies around the world are exploring how to exploit it.

AW-Energy Oy is one of them. This company has created the WaveRoller, a device that converts ocean wave energy into electricity hundreds of metres away from the coast and at the bottom of the sea.

"The big panel moves back and forth with the ocean waves and captures the energy," explains AW-Energy Oy's chief technology officer Jussi kerberg. "The power take-off unit with generators levels the energy and converts it to electricity."

The bigger the wave, the more powerful it is. But the power generated also depends on its speed, its length, and the power of the wind pushing it.

"In the future, multiple WaveRoller units can be combined to create a bigger wave farm", he adds.

But despite its many advantages, this technology isnt widely used yet. Researchers are still investigating how to make it an affordable and reliable alternative.

Tidal energy is one of the largest untapped renewables. And it has plenty of benefits.

Tides are highly dependent on the gravitational forces of the moon, which are determined by its cycles. That means they are easier to predict than wind and sun and that its possible to know in advance how much electricity will be produced. Unlike other offshore renewables, they don't rely on the weather either, they work even when there is no wind or sun.

Tidal energy is generated with tidal power generatorsunderwater turbinesthat are installed in places with high tidal movements. The movement of the water makes the blades turn. This drives the generator to produce electricity that is then sent to shore via power cables.

These devices can be difficult to install and maintain in the ocean due to harsh conditions, especially at competitive costs. However, recent technological improvements are making this possible. And many European countries are already embracing this technology, such as France and the United Kingdom.

Today, only 2% of Europe's electricity is produced at sea. Nevertheless, the continent is the global leader in offshore renewables.

The EU wants to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and by then, offshore renewables will become the first source of power.

That is why the European Commission has launched an ambitious strategy.

By 2030, Europe's offshore wind capacity is set to multiply by 5, going from 12 to 60 GW. And by 2050 it will reach 300 GW, that's 25 times more than today. The EU has also committed to increasing ocean energy and other emerging technologies.

To meet these objectives nearly 800 billion will be needed. Most of that will need to come from private investment.

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What are offshore renewables? And how do they work? - Euronews

Breezy offshore flow will keep daytime highs above average Tuesday – KSBY San Luis Obispo News

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San Luis Obispo County remains under a wind advisory Tuesday morning as northerly and northeasterly winds continue to reach 20-25 miles per hour with wind speeds close to 40 mph.

After the advisory expires at 10 a.m., the offshore flow will continue to be a factor in the forecast and keep daytime highs above average and skies clear. Most coastal valley areas will stay within the 70s, while beaches will range from the 60s and low 70s. For inland valleys, the Santa Ynez Valley will be around the mid to upper 70s, and the SLO County interior valleys will stay closer to the mid to upper 60s.

Fire level concern will be heightened due to the dry and warm weather which is going to remain in the forecast through the end of the week. Daytime highs will begin to trend down by just a few degrees Wednesday as a shallow trough makes its way over the west through Wednesday. As this is happening, it's likely that the Central Coast will start to see the redevelopment of coastal clouds and marine layer in the overnight hours.

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Breezy offshore flow will keep daytime highs above average Tuesday - KSBY San Luis Obispo News