The investment costs for offshore wind energy projects are said to be almost double that of onshore projects.

These costs have also risen substantially over the past two-three years due to increase in raw material costs and demand-supply situation for turbines and some components.

In its recent study, Frost & Sullivan underlined that high costs are either deterring a lot of project developers from investing or making previously interested investors leave the sector.

Considering that the technology is very nascent, it is imperative to invest in R&D of technology, installation and O&M.

Another important initiative could be working on a feasibility study for such projects.

An example of such an approach would be the Great Lakes Wind Energy Center Feasibility Study, conducted by juwi GmbH and its Ohio-based subsidiary JW Great Lakes Wind LLC, on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force.

juwi GmbH was hired by Cuyahoga County to perform a feasibility study for the Great Lakes Wind Energy Center, which is envisioned to include a 5-20 MW pilot offshore wind energy project in Lake Erie near downtown Cleveland and associated test, certification, and advanced research centres.

Based on established siting criteria, including water depth, geology, shipping lanes, underwater features, air navigation, radar, ecological concerns, wind resource, and others, juwi recommended an area east of the Cleveland water intake Crib, approximately three miles from shore. This location offers the highest iconic value for the Pilot Project while balancing other siting considerations and requirements. Final turbine locations will depend on regulatory consultation and approval.

Commenting on this initiative, David Nash, Partner, McMahon DeGulis LLP, said the logic is that a small scale demonstration project will accelerate the learning needed to successfully develop subsequent utility scale projects in Lake Erie.

The feasibility study is the first step in that learning process. 

The next step is to address gaps, if any, identified in the feasibility study and to receive input from the community, said Nash, who is scheduled to speak at the Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference to be held in Toronto (October 21-22) this year.

After that, construction of the envisioned demonstration project will reduce hurdles to commercial development by mitigating risks to private sector participants as a result of establishing necessary regulatory precedents and providing real world experience on technical, environmental and financial performance metrics. 

“In summary, we don’t believe that the path for enabling the offshore wind industry is to “shoot for the moon” in one enormous and expensive/risky step, but via a phased approach with modest and achievable milestones,” said Nash.

Nash also spoke about overcoming hurdles in order to accelerate offshore wind development on Lake Erie. Excerpts:

Which is the best way to address and report issues of policy, legal and regulatory matters, site evaluation, technical development, and finance and economics?

We believe that our model of pursuing a proactive and collaborative dialogue with necessary regulatory agencies and other stakeholders is critical to long-term success, and is already bearing fruit by producing constructive and prompt problem-solving on issues that have surfaced in the Feasibility Study. 

The Great Lakes Energy Development Task force is an inclusive, diverse, public-private, assembly of experts and relevant stakeholders. 

The Task Force meets regularly as a group, and as necessary, convenes meetings with representatives of regulatory agencies to make progress on the issues that have surfaced as necessary for making progress in developing offshore wind in Lake Erie.  This open and transparent process, we believe, accelerates achievement of consensus on complex issues. 

Which is the best way to highlight the long-term economic development potential of such projects? For instance, in order to get an idea of the expected performance of the Lake Erie Offshore site in the future, a long term average wind speed for the site was evaluated based on the long term trend from a nearby onshore reference site. How should experts and stakeholders be involved and what sort of timeframe should be looked upon for such an initiative?

As this project appears to be the first of its kind in the Great Lakes, we believe that learning collaboratively in appropriate phases is critical to success.

Focusing on economic development, engaging applicable existing and prospective supply chains, is key to generating public support and enthusiasm. 

Even though there are substantial environmental benefits associated with offshore wind, ultimately, this effort is about jobs -- manufacturing components, assembling turbines, installing and servicing them in the water. 

Of course, the proof is in the pudding and we will have to await concrete results before opining on the “best way” to highlight economic development potential actually achieved.

What do you recommend when it comes to working with local authorities, statutory and non-statutory entities and other stakeholders in order to undertake site specific consultations and environmental impact assessments before bringing forward a final plan for development of the site?

a.     Communicate early, often and consistently 

b.    Seek feedback and be responsive

c.     Maintain transparency with all stakeholders

Can you elaborate on how public private partnerships are vital to project success?

The United States is not as experienced in using public-private partnerships as Europe and Canada.  Nevertheless, we are pleased to report that the task force model we have followed in Cuyahoga County is so far been widely deemed to be successful.  They key is - achieve complex goals with diverse and multiple stakeholders, effective collaboration on parallel and multi-level paths are critical.
 

Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference

Wind Energy Update is scheduled to conduct Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference in Toronto (October 21-22) this year.

For more information, click here: http://www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore/index.shtml

Or contact: Tom Evans by email tom@windenergyupdate.com