PROVIDENCE – A Dutch maritime contractor is the latest offshore wind-related company to set up shop in the city, simultaneously inking deals to work on the construction and operation of three major wind turbine projects.
State officials and company leaders gathered at the Cambridge Innovation Center Providence on Thursday to celebrate Boskalis Offshore Wind Management LLC’s foray into Rhode Island with both physical office space and contracts to work on three regional wind farms.
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In addition to its by-the-month office rental in downtown Providence, the local subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has signed a contract with wind developers Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy LLC for three of its upcoming wind projects, the companies announced on Thursday.
The agreement, the length and value of which was not disclosed, calls for Boskalis to help oversee various facets of construction and offshore transportation for the Revolution, South Fork and Sunrise wind projects, all of which are joint ventures between Orsted and Eversource. The Northeast projects represent a combined 1.7-gigawatts worth of wind energy and are all expected to involve Rhode Island workers and ports in some way. Revolution Wind will also bring 400 megawatts of power to the Ocean State.
Boskalis’ entrance into Rhode Island was touted as proof of the state’s growing stake in the burgeoning offshore wind market.
“It is the hub for wind,” Jamie Lescinski, Boskalis’ director of business development, said of Rhode Island. “You can’t look at it any other way and it’s only going to grow in its importance.”
Boskalis, which also has offices in Houston that house its dredging and other non-wind related stateside maritime activities, considered other options for where to open a U.S. offshore wind hub, but ultimately, none compared with Rhode Island, Lescinski said.
Boskalis joins more than 20 other wind-related companies who have leased monthly office space in the CIC, including Orsted A/S, according to Hilary Fagan, president of R.I. Commerce Corp. That network of national and global expertise, combined with the state’s continued commitment – through policy and funding – to renewable energy growth, makes Rhode Island a natural leader in the wind energy space, Gov. Daniel J. McKee said.
McKee pointed to the funding included in his fiscal 2023 budget for port development, including $35 million for a turbine staging area in East Providence’s South Quay, as evidence of this commitment. Meanwhile, the state continues to set the pace nationwide for the shift to renewable energy, with the landmark legislation signed by McKee on Wednesday to hit 100% renewable electricity by 2033 mentioned as one specific example.
“This is the knowledge economy,” said David Ortiz, Orsted’s head of New England market affairs.
The benefits of Rhode Island’s dominance in offshore wind extend beyond environmental; the state is also poised to gain from significant job creation through this industry, state officials have said.
Indeed, Boskalis’ contract with Orsted and Eversource calls for using local union labor to work on the wind farm construction, but exactly how many jobs will be created was not available.
The company’s CIC office space also does not come with significant job creation; the second-floor office space is set to hold an initial five workers, including Lescinski, with plans to add another two employees by the end of the year, Lescinski said. She could not say how many of these Rhode Island staff were from the state, but said they had been hired from across the region.
Construction of the South Fork Wind Farm off the coast of Block Island has already begun, with plans to bring 130 megawatts of power to New York. The 700-megawatt Revolution Wind project, which will supply energy to Rhode Island and Connecticut, is expected to begin construction next year, pending federal approval. Also awaiting federal approval is Sunrise Wind, which will serve New York.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
