KEYSTONE FOUNDATIONS

Volume 1 / Issue 1 September 2014 / Q3FOUNDATIONS FOR THE US OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

The imperative to reduce carbon emissions and generate clean energy has

taken center stage under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. With

federal level financial and political support mechanisms announced in May

and June of 2014, the US market now appears primed for an exponential

increase in offshore wind capacity throughout the end of the decade.

As the regulatory and financial puzzle pieces fall into place for US offshore

wind developments, a number of technical, geological, and meteorological

conditions will similarly influence the timeframe and realization of US demon-

stration projects currently in the pipeline. Keystone Engineering Inc. assess

a number of unique, site specific engineering hurdles that must be overcome

within the next few years to ensure that the nascent US offshore wind indus-

try is built on strong foundations.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Table 1Advance Stage US Offshore Wind Projects*

Project Proposed Capacity (MW)

Proposed Turbines (#)

Distance to Shore(miles) (approx.)

Water Depth (meters) (approx.) Foundation TypeUS State

Block Island - Deepwater Wind

Cape Wind

Fishermen’s Atlantic City **Fishermen’s Phase II

Baryonx

LeedCO

Dominion/VOWTAP **

Windfloat **

U. of Maine

RI

MA

NJ

NJ

TX

OH

VA

OR

ME

30

468

25

330

-

27

12

30

12

5

130

5

-

-

9

2

5

2

3

13.8

2.8

-

-

7

27

15

13.8

23-28

8-22

11.5

-

-

14.5

30

50

60+

Standard Jacket

Monopile

Keystone Twisted Jacket

Undecided

Undecided

Ice-breaking monopile

KeystoneTwisted Jacket

Principle Power Floating

Floating

*Advance stage refers to projects that have accomplished a commercial lease in state or federal waters, conducted baseline geotechnical studies on proposed site location, and have meteorological mast erected** U.S. DoE “Down-selected” Projects Table Source: Keystone Engineering from Department of Energy, Navigant Consulting and 4COffshore

The US fundamentals for cultivating the offshore wind industry appear solid

in the current political context. In May 2014, the United States Department

of Energy (DoE) selected three offshore wind projects to receive up to $47

million in funding grants for deploying demonstration-scale offshore wind

projects in US waters, targeted for 2017 (see Table 1). The DoE selection

was followed barely a month later in June 2014 with the announcement of

President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, federal legislation that seeks to

reduce US carbon emissions from power generation plants by some 30% of

2005 levels by 2030 – providing a boon to offshore wind. Finally, in late June

2014, the DoE announced a further conditional loan agreement of $150 mil-

lion to support the Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

While the recently announced DOE grants provide an important financial im-

petus for each of these projects, a diverse range of technical, geological, and

meteorological conditions will also ultimately impact the timeframe and the

realization of each of these projects. Indeed, with two of the three US DoE

down-selected projects positioned along the Atlantic seaboard (along with the

Cape Wind project), unique site conditions and hurricane hazards will test the

resilience of offshore wind turbines and substructure designs.

FEDERAL LEVEL POLITICAL SUPPORT ON TRACK

A LEADING INNOVATOR IN THE US MARKET

Keystone Engineering Inc. is providing engineering and design works for four

of the advanced stage US offshore wind projects. Keystone will furthermore

supply its innovative inward battered guide structure, or “Twisted Jacket” off-

shore wind turbine support structure, to two of the three DoE down-selected

projects, Fishermen’s energy of New Jersey and Dominion Power’s VOW-

TAP demonstration units.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to participate during this pioneering time for the US

offshore wind industry. Personally, it is extremely satisfying to lead Keystone Engineering at

this time and see the dedicated efforts of our talented team of engineers and designers

recognized by the US DoE for their innovative work in offshore wind engineering.”

– Rudy Hall, C.E.O. Keystone Engineering Inc.

US Offshore Projects – Atlantic Coast

The unique conditions along the US mid-Atlantic and East Coast require a

myriad of foundation considerations. Since 1988, the US Eastern Seaboard

has endured well over 100 hurricanes. In order to safeguard against these

eventualities, the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Compliance

Recommended Practices 2012 (AWEA OCRP 2012) suggest stricter foun-

dation design requirements for Atlantic Wind Energy Areas. This inlcudes

recommending that offshore wind turbine foundations meet L2 life-safety

structures requirements as defined by the American Petroleum Institute

(API). This includes a 500-year return period survivavbility check.

Different offshore wind turbine foundations have unique characteristics

influencing their robustness and ultimate load resistance. In hazard-prone

regions with demanding metocean and geotechnic (soil) conditions such as

those present along the US East Coast, a foundation’s robustness becomes

all the more important in foundation type selection and design. These struc-

tures need to have higher innate reserve strength ratios (RSRs) in order to

meet these requirements while using the current International Electrotechni-

cal Commission (IEC) load factors.

To meet these requirements, jacket-type foundation types have now been

confirmed for three of the five US East Coast projects: Deepwater Wind

(RI), Fishermen’s Energy (NJ), and Dominon Virginia Power (VA). Keystone

Engineering Inc. is working to provide unique solutions targeting cost-sav-

ings and efficiencies considering the design, fabrication, and installation of

jacket-based foundations. The unique design of Keystone’s Inward Battered

Guide Structure, or Twisted Jacket, for example, increases the robustness

of the structure and also reduces exposure to wave loads. Fabrication of the

twisted jacket can be streamlined to create economies of scale, and cheaper

installation vessels can be used - saving significant time and money.

By 2017, Keystone Engineering Inc. will provide the design of seven IBGS

foundations to be installed along the Atlantic Seaboard, ushering in innova-

tion and cost savings to the US offshore wind market. As development prog-

ress in the US, Keystone Engineering Inc. looks forward to being involved in

building the foundations of the US offshore wind industry.

UNIQUE FOUNDATION SOLUTIONS ARE NEEDED

Contact UsKeystone Engineering Inc.

3500 N. Causeway Approach

Suite 1100

Metaire, LA 70002

bfoley@keystoneengr.com

www.keystoneengr.com