Identification of Port Modifications and the Environmental and Socioeconomic Consequences.

摘要

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for issuing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases as well as monitoring and mitigating impacts that might be associated with offshore wind energy development that would happen on those leases. Although offshore wind is still in its infancy in the United States, it is recognized that port facilities are a critical piece for development and operation of an offshore wind energy facility. Currently, very few ports on the U.S. Atlantic coast are currently capable of fully supporting an offshore wind energy project, however, port modifications are already being implemented or planned to accommodate wind energy facility construction and operations. Traditionally, port development in the U.S. has been focused on commerce by supporting the efficient transport of large quantities of goods and enabling larger and deeper draft ships to access ports as far inland as possible (Cooper and Marrone 2013). Offshore wind energy projects will require specialized equipment, services, and labor not currently available in most U.S. ports. Understanding what will be needed to support both short-term construction and long-term operation and maintenance activities at these ports involves learning from the recent experience of European offshore wind projects, as well as identifying similar services and activities already associated with existing marine industries in the U.S. Port facilities are anticipated to host three primary activities to support offshore wind energy project development: fabrication and assembly, installation and staging, and operations and maintenance. The primary activities considered for this study are associated with the modification of ports to support the staging and installation of extremely large and heavy components associated with offshore wind energy projects and facilitating access and docking of vessels that transport and install them. Offshore wind staging ports are anticipated to require significant storage and lay-down space, equipment to transport large cargo within the port, cranes with heavy lift capacity to load and unload components from the vessels, sufficient quayside space to accommodate transportation and installation vessels, and sufficient overhead clearance along waterbodies leading to ports to allow these vessels to reach the port. While many of these capabilities are available today in ports along the U.S. Atlantic coastline, the primary exception is the capability of the typical U.S. Atlantic cargo port to handle the weight of the heaviest offshore wind turbine components since the quayside and cranes are configured for lighter load cargo. Therefore, the limiting factors are the quayside bearing capacity as well as the lifting capability of cranes. This study built upon the U.S. Department of Energy’s (U.S. DOE) Assessment of Ports for Offshore.