About 24km south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, a structure emerges from the Atlantic Ocean. It will have the biggest turbines in the Atlantic stacked on top.
It is the first offshore power substation in the US and in October it is expected to start delivering electricity from Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. By 2024, the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.
A few miles away are the first six monopiles, foundations fixed to the seabed that will hold the turbines, which developers, Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, are set to begin attaching next week, said Sy Oytan, Avangrid’s chief operating officer for offshore wind.
“Seeing the first monopile in the water was such a relief,” Mr Oytan said. “It was the point of no return.”
The monopiles are the most tangible sign of progress for US offshore wind, but they come at a time when the industry is struggling. While construction on Vineyard Wind is increasing, other projects have stalled after inflation and rising financing rates drove up costs.
Developers are seeking to renegotiate power-delivery contracts they signed years ago, before surging component prices made the deals unviable. And some states are baulking at the prospect of higher electricity rates from offshore turbines. That is why Mr Oytan is so pleased this project is taking shape.
Strong, consistent winds combined with shallow water make the US North-east one of the best places in the world for offshore wind, said Mr Oytan.
He was leading a tour of the site on the Captain John & Son II on Wednesday, about two hours from Hyannis, Massachusetts, for about 75 politicians, environmental advocates, labour representatives and local community leaders. The 26-metre vessel was dwarfed by the substation, which is almost the size of an American football field.
And that will look tiny compared to the 62 turbines that will be installed by early 2024. The General Electric systems will each have about 13MW of capacity and rise about 259 metres.
They will be the biggest in the Atlantic, according to Eric Hines, a Tufts University engineering professor. And GE is expected to introduce taller versions of its Haliade turbines.
“This is real,” said Joe O’Brien, the political and legislative director for the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. “Ten years ago it was hypothetical.”
Mr O’Brien represents some of the union workers who are eager to see the industry take off, and deliver high-paying jobs to the region. President Joe Biden has set a goal of 30GW of turbines in operation in US waters by 2030, and several North-east and mid-Atlantic states have established their own targets.
But those goals are threatened by the economic turmoil that has beset the industry. Avangrid agreed in July to pay $49 million to cancel a power-purchase agreement for its 1.2GW Commonwealth Wind project, saying rising costs had made it unviable.
Vineyard Wind managed to avoid those issues because it lined up supply deals before inflation drove up costs.
These issues are temporary setbacks, according to industry advocates. Demand for clean energy will only increase, driven by the push to electrify more of the economy and the increasing urgency of the fight against climate change.
That will spur more utilities to pursue offshore wind, especially in the Northeast where there are few alternatives, said Susannah Hatch, director of clean energy policy for the Environmental League of Massachusetts.
“There might be a little bit of a lull,” she said. “It doesn’t mean the industry isn’t moving forward.”
There are two wind farms in service in US waters now, one near Block Island, Rhode Island, that has five turbines and a total of 30MW of capacity, and a two-turbine project in Virginia that has 12MW of capacity. Both are viewed as demonstration projects that laid the groundwork for larger projects like Avangrid’s 806MW Vineyard Wind.
Besides the Avangrid project, another wind farm is under construction nearby, the 132MW South Fork project east of Long Island, New York.
The smaller project is a joint venture of Eversource Energy, a Massachusetts utility, and Orsted, a Danish energy developer, will have 12 turbines.
It began offshore work in June and will probably be complete before Vineyard, although Avangrid executives expect their project will be able to deliver electricity to the grid earlier.
The emergence of offshore wind projects has brought together disparate groups, said Mr O’Brien, the union official. Labour groups and environmentalists historically have found themselves in opposition.
But looking around the deck of the Captain John & Son II, Mr O’Brien pointed to the different groups of people who had all come to see the result of their years of effort promoting the offshore wind industry.
“Everyone wants this,” he said. “Now we’re all in the same boat.”
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Norway
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Canada
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