Interior Dept. announced proposed leases in U.S. waters off of North Carolina, Louisiana and Texas; environmental review of 2-GW project south of Martha's Vineyard begins.
As wind farms proliferate in more remote onshore and offshore locations, a U.K. startup is deploying self-piloting drones to survey turbine blades and transmit data for detailed images of damage using artificial intelligence.
Contract value was not disclosed, but firm's offshore unit will produce the key component at its Texas oil and gas fabrication site for a NY project, said developers, who also said federal environmental review of an adjacent 924-MW wind farm had begun
General Electric Co. is betting that its next-gen offshore wind turbine—a giant at 12 MW, 260 meters high and with 107-m blades—will make offshore wind power more competitive and position the firm to win a fair share of the burgeoning energy market.
The Hollandse Kust Zuid 1 and 2 farms are expected to one day supply 700 to 750 MW of capacity, drawing from an estimated 60 to 130 turbines, depending on the kind of monopile-foundation wind technology installed.
Ever-bigger turbines and floating platforms are helping to accelerate the growth of offshore wind power development in Europe, where immediate prospects remain strong, especially in the United Kingdom.
Construction sector firms are helping corporations and utilities navigate low-cost clean-energy sources and distributed generation in a changing electricity marketplace.
