Danish Dong Energy is entering the US offshore wind market. The company will take over RES’s more than 1,000 MW newly assigned development project rights off the coast of Massachusetts.
At the offshore wind auction held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), RES Americas Developments Inc. secured the rights to develop one of the two leases that were awarded. The lease comprises an area off the coast of Massachusetts that could potentially accommodate more than 1,000 MW to be built after 2020. Following approval from BOEM, RES has applied to the BOEM to transfer its rights to Dong Energy.
Already in 2014, RES and Dong agreed to cooperate on offshore wind projects in Massachusetts. Under that agreement, and subject to the approval of the BOEM, Dong will take over the lease and lead project development activities, with support from RES Americas.
Entering the US offshore wind market earmarks Dong Energy’s entry into the first project outside Europe. Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President of Wind Power, said: “The US is an interesting market for offshore wind with the potential to become a significant area for future development. We already have a number of post 2020 projects in our pipeline in North-Western Europe that we will continue to develop. With the takeover of the offshore wind development project in the US, we will broaden our geographical scope and follow the market potential outside of our current footprint.”
A draft policy bill to support the regulatory conditions for offshore wind has been introduced with the Massachusetts government aiming to provide a stable framework that will enable the build-out of projects and the creation of new jobs.
The Massachusetts lease has a total size of 760 km2 and is located approximately 90 km from shore. Water depth is between 40 and 50 m. Leupold continued: “The site conditions are quite similar to those we currently work with in North-Western Europe which means that the project could be developed using well-known technology and logistics.”
Katharina Garus