ASCE NCS October 2017 Section Meeting

The ASCE-NCS Sustainability Committee is proud to announce that the October 2017 ASCE-NCS Section Dinner Meeting will highlight the topic of “Regional Off-Shore Wind Production Platforms – Geotech and other Design and Regulatory Perspectives”.   Representing the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), our distinguished guest speakers will be Darryl K. François, Chief of the Engineering and Technical Review Branch of the Office of Renewable Energy Programs and Daniel P. O’Connell, P.E., G.E., M.ASCE, Geotechnical Engineer with the Office of Renewable Energy Programs.

As an emerging part of the nation’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio, the BOEM’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Renewable Energy Program, provides a new source of domestic energy supply with less carbon emissions, and offers the prospect of more domestic jobs and wages, and increased revenues from lease bonuses, rentals on acreage leased, and production operating fees. In the future, BOEM anticipates development of offshore renewable energy from three sources: wind energy, ocean wave energy and ocean current energy.

Our guest representatives from the BOEM will discuss the engineering design challenges, energy production technologies and ongoing and planned projects in Maryland, Virginia and beyond throughout all the shorelines of the United States.  They will be discussing their agency’s mission to manage development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf energy and mineral resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way.  

Wind energy has been used by humans for thousands of years. For example, windmills were often used by farmers and ranchers for pumping water or grinding grain. In modern times, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity, primarily through the use of wind turbines.

The first offshore wind project was installed off the coast of Denmark in 1991. Since that time, commercial-scale offshore wind facilities have been operating in shallow waters around the world, mostly in Europe. Wind power projects will continue to take shape offshore the United States. At the same time, the development of newer turbine and foundation technologies will allow wind power projects to be built in deeper waters further offshore, and the adaptation of standards and guidelines for national regulation will remain important for a national offshore wind energy resource and design database.   

Offshore wind turbines are being used by a number of countries to harness the energy of strong, consistent winds that are found over the oceans. In the United States, roughly 50% of the nation’s total population lives in coastal areas to include counties directly on the shoreline or counties that drain to coastal watersheds. Energy costs and demands can be high, and land-based renewable energy resources are often limited in coastal areas. Abundant offshore wind resources have the potential to supply immense quantities of renewable energy to major U.S. coastal cities, such as New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles.

Offshore winds tend to blow harder and more uniformly than on land. The potential energy produced from wind is directly proportional to the cube of the wind speed. As a result, increased wind speeds of only a few miles per hour can produce a significantly larger amount of electricity. For instance, a turbine at a site with an average wind speed of 16 mph would produce 50% more electricity than at a site with the same turbine and average wind speeds of 14 mph. This is one reason that developers are interested in pursuing offshore wind energy resources. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides a number of maps showing average wind speed data through its Resource Assessment & Characterization page and through National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (see link below).

Wind speeds off the Southern Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico are lower than wind speeds off the Pacific Coast. However, the presence of shallower waters in the Atlantic makes development more attractive and economical for now. Hawaii has the highest estimated potential, accounting for roughly 17% of the entire estimated U.S. offshore wind resource. Maps of renewable energy potential for multiple technologies, or state-by-state analyses.

The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act requires the BOEM to award leases competitively, unless BOEM determines there is no competitive interest. In and around 2010, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) initiated the leasing process offshore Maryland by issuing a Request for Interest (RFI) to gauge industry’s interest in obtaining commercial wind leases in many offshore areas including Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.  

 About the Presenters:

Mr. François is responsible for managing the regulatory framework that governs the development of renewable energy projects on the U.S. outer continental shelf.   His responsibilities include policy development and management oversight of the review of technical and engineering design aspects related to offshore renewableenergy projects. In addition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Mr. François’ 37 year career with the U.S. Department of the Interior includes service with the U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Management Service and Indian Affairs in the analysis of energy, environmental, technology, and economic development issues across the Department’s spectrum of public land management.  He received his B.S. in Physics from Bradley University and his M.S. in Geophysics from the Pennsylvania State University.