Offshore wind installation services company Seajacks UK, as of recently a subsidiary of Eneti, has established an operational base in the City of Virginia Beach, Va.
Seajacks has been providing Blue Ocean Energy Marine, a Dominion Energy-owned company, with support services relating to the construction and operation of the first Jones Act compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel, Charybdis, seen as a key vessel for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.
The 472-foot vessel is designed by GustoMSC to handle turbine sizes of 12 megawatts or larger and will also be capable of the installation of foundations for turbines and other heavy lifts. To be named Charybdis, the vessel will have accommodation for up to 119 crew and wind farm technicians
Commenting on the opening of the new base, Blair Ainslie, CEO of Seajacks, said, "Virginia is at the heart of the burgeoning US offshore wind energy sector and we are delighted to open our US office in Virginia Beach. This office will soon become the hub for our US activities. Our teams have all been impressed with the local workforce, supply chain, and facilities available. Virginia is building a new industry in offshore wind and we are delighted to be involved.”
Taylor Adams, Deputy City Manager at Virginia Beach, said, "We are excited that Seajacks has chosen office space in Virginia Beach’s Town Centre to support their US operations. Their presence helps establish the Hampton Roads region as an emerging hub for the Country’s offshore wind industry. Seajacks’ performance with offshore installations speaks for itself, and their expertise will be an asset to the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project.”
In Virginia, U.S. company Dominion Energy in November 2021filed plans with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for approval to construct the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project, which will generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes.
Wind turbines for the project will be supplied by Siemens Gamesa, which said in October 2021 it would open the first offshore wind turbine blade facility in the United States.
Siemens Gamesa plans to develop more than 80 acres/32 hectares at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal in Portsmouth, Virginia. Some 260 jobs at the facility are expected to be created when fully operational. Also, Siemens Gamesa plans to create around 50 service jobs to provide operations and maintenance services for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project.
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