WIND SETS TO SEA

Sensing Opportunities, Terrestrial Wind Developers Head Offshore
Mark Del Franco, 8 March 2011 (North American Windpower)

"When Maryland issued its request for interest (RFI) for offshore wind leases off its coast last year, terrestrial-based wind developers, such as RES Americas, Iberdrola Renewables and NRG Energy, answered the state's call alongside offshore-only wind developers, such as Fisherman's Energy…[I]t is likely that more terrestrial wind developers will follow……[when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE)] releases additional RFIs in Atlantic Coast states later this year.

"Offshore wind represents a big opportunity for land-based developers, explains David Gaier, spokesperson for NRG Energy, which owns more than 400 MW of installed capacity from four Texas wind farms. The company also owns offshore wind developer Bluewater Wind, which it acquired in November 2009…"

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"Chris Morgan, CEO of RES Offshore, which will collaborate with RES Americas, agrees that offshore wind can play a big role in North America, especially on the East Coast, where demand load is high and there is a significant resource accessible to current technology…Others explain that it is a matter of [the] clear policy…set by the White House and the U.S. Department of the Interior…"

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"…[T]here are also challenges…[T]he wind turbines may look the same above the water [but] that's where the similarities end…[T]he disciplines between onshore and offshore development are so stark, even the most battle-tested wind developers are enlisting the help of European firms with offshore wind experience.

"For RES Americas, that means enlisting the help of its offshore subsidiary, which according to the company, has more than 6 GW of offshore experience in development, operations and maintenance, and engineering…"