EXPERT CROSSED POND TO FINISH FIRST US OFFSHORE WIND FARM

摘要

For Deepwater Wind, small was definitely better. The developer has carved a new niche for alternative energy in the U.S. with the successful completion last year of the five-turbine, 30-MW Block Island wind farm off the Rhode Island coast-the first such offshore project to begin commercial operation in American waters. Leading the $300-million construction effort involving an array of contractors was company President Chris Van Beek, a Dutch native who joined Deepwater Wind after a 25-year career in offshore oil-and-gas construction at Netherlands-based Heerema Marine Contractors. With no ready supply chain in the U.S. to serve the project, Van Beek says he "had to get creative," leaning on connections from oil-and-gas work in Europe and Mexico. He says construction participants also overcame the "learning curve" of working in unpredictable ocean waters, says Van Beek. He says the project, built over two years to accommodate coastal Rhode Island's rough weather, was completed on budget and schedule, with no contractor claims.