Orsted, Eversource officials tour construction of offshore wind farm vessel in Louisiana
The construction of an offshore wind service operations vessel (SOV) is underway at the Edison Chouest Offshore shipyard in Houma, La.
The 262-foot-long SOV is the first American-built offshore wind farm SOV. So far, the vessel, called the ECO Edison, is 50 percent finished, with more than 275,000 work hours logged to date and no lost-time accidents.
Once in service, the vessel will play a key role in enabling domestic energy production. The vessel is being built for Orstd and Eversource and will be used to operate and maintain Orsted and Eversource’s Revolution Wind, South Fork Wind, and Sunrise Wind projects. The vessel, which will be christened in 2024, will be based in Port Jefferson, N.Y.
This week, executives from Orsted and Eversource toured the facility to witness its progress.
“This shipyard and this vessel are living proof that American offshore wind energy is providing economic opportunity and creating jobs today across the country,” David Hardy, group EVP and CEO Americas at Orsted, said. “This first American service operations vessel represents the ingenuity of businesses like Edison Chouest to build upon their legacy in offshore energy and to supply a cutting-edge vessel that will allow workers to safely and effectively operate offshore.”
The ECO Edison will serve as a floating, year-round home base for 60 of the first American offshore wind turbine technicians, who will work at sea over the life of the wind farms, servicing and maintaining the wind turbines.
“Offshore wind is a key driver of economic growth, creating well-paying jobs in states across the country and forging a new, domestic supply chain that, together, will position our nation as a global leader in the industries of tomorrow, today,” Mike Ausere, vice president of business development at Eversource Energy, said. “This vessel is a testament to American leadership: Designed and built in the United States; as long as the Superdome is tall; able to host 60 wind turbine technicians – all whom will benefit from the vessel’s state-of-the-art accommodations to keep them safe and well-cared for while at sea; and ready to support the long-term operations and maintenance of our portfolio of offshore wind farms and consequent production of enough energy to power more than a million U.S. homes.”
The ECO Edison features a “walk to work” motion-compensated gangway that allows technicians to easily and safely access the wind turbines. A smaller, so-called “daughter” craft onboard can be deployed to maneuver crew across the wind farms.
“We’re proud to put our expertise to work on such an important vessel for the offshore wind industry’s future American fleet,” said Gary Chouest, president of Edison Chouest Offshore. “Thanks to our decades of experience in offshore industries, our in-house engineers, and the hard work of more than 400 of our shipbuilders, we’re now more than 50 percent complete on this historic, specialized vessel that will serve as a model for the U.S. offshore wind industry and a home base for American offshore wind technicians for years to come.”
