Singapore’s Keppel Corp is to build a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) at its shipyard in the US in a deal worth SGD600m ($450m).
The newbuilding has been ordered by US energy company Dominion Energy and is due to be delivered from Keppel’s Gulf of Mexico-based Keppel AmFELS.
The Jones Act compliant vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2023 after which it will be available for charter hire to offshore wind developers, in support of several US wind projects.
Keppel said the vessel is expected to be fully utilised on US East Coast projects exceeding five gigawatts (GW) of US offshore wind construction through to 2027.
The vessel’s hull will have a length of 472 feet, a width of 184 feet and a depth of 38 feet, making it one of the biggest offshore wind installation vessels in the world.
Its features include a main crane with a boom length of 426 feet and an expected lifting capacity of 2,200 tonnes and accommodation for up to 119 people.
Keppel said the vessel is designed to handle current turbine technologies as well as next generation turbine sizes of 12 megawatts or larger and will also be capable of the installation of foundations for turbines and other heavy lifts.
Keel laying ceremony
Robert M Blue, Dominion Energy’s president and chief executive said the company chose Keppel to build the vessel as they “provided an efficient, economical and versatile solution, backed by a reputation for delivering high quality vessels safely and reliably”.
Work on the vessel, which will be named Charybdis, has commenced with a keel laying ceremony held at Keppel AmFELS’ yard in Brownsville, Texas on Wednesday.
Keppel Offshore & Marine chief executive Chris Ong said: “We are pleased to be selected by Dominion Energy to build the first offshore wind turbine installation vessel in the US, which is also one of the largest vessels of its kind in the world.
“It is a testament to the capabilities of our shipyard in building a wide variety of vessels for the Jones Act market.”
Keppel first disclosed the order in early October this year but did not disclose the identity of the customer or where the vessel would be built.
The group said the securing of this contract was in line with its “Vision 2030 initiative”, which includes seeking opportunities in providing renewable energy solutions.
A recent report by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the US Department of Energy found that the US could develop a total of 86 GW of offshore wind projects by 2050.
