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1 1 (September 12, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemuq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congre &ionaI fles hnfarming Ih leg ilive deba 3rch Service since 1914 September 12, 2023 Vessel Construction for Offshore Wind Power Generation introduction The Biden Administration's goal of having 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power generation installed by 2030 will require construction of at least 2,100 wind turbines, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). Seven turbines are currently operating in state and federal waters. Construction of two additional offshore wind farms started in summer 2023 and another is to begin construction later in 2023. This activity is taking place in coastal waters from Virginia to Massachusetts. More construction projects are planned for other coastal areas, though project cost inflation, including higher interest rates, is prompting reevaluation of some installations. To construct and maintain offshore wind turbines, a number of different vessel types are needed. Many of these vessels must be built in the United States pursuant to a 1920 law commonly known as the Jones Act (P.L. 66-261). Vessel construction is underway. Several smaller and simpler vessels have been built, but the larger, more complicated vessels can take three to four years to complete. Without more domestic shipbuilding activity for these larger, more complicated vessels, DOE estimates that about half of planned offshore wind projects will be delayed beyond 2030. In addition to reconsidering the 1920 import ban of foreign-built vessels, Congress can influence vessel cost and availability through existing loan, grant, and tax shelter programs provided to domestic shipbuilders. Shipbuilding Needs and Activity News reports indicate that about 25-30 vessels for offshore wind have been recently delivered, are under construction, or are on order from U.S. shipyards. The most sophisticated and complicated vessel needed for offshore wind energy production is the wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), a vessel with a large crane that installs the various segments of a turbine. The vessels have jack up legs, legs attached to the hull that can be retracted and extended to the sea bed so that they essentially become fixed platforms when turbine construction is underway. The one WTIV currently under construction in the United States is planned at 472 feet in length, accommodating over 100 workers. It is being built in Brownsville, TX, and is expected to be ready for sea trials in 2024. WTIVs do not necessarily have to be built in the United States if they perform strictly construction and do not transport merchandise or passengers on the U.S. outer continental shelf. The Jones Act requirement for U.S.-built vessels applies specifically to the coastwise (domestic) transportation of merchandise or passengers between any two U.S. points. Under the interpretation of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency responsible for enforcing the Jones Act, as long as a WTIV remains stationary during construction and does not transport merchandise or passengers as it moves from one turbine to the next, it can be foreign-built. A U.S.-built WTIV would be required if it were to transport wind turbine components from a U.S. port to an offshore construction site. While this could be the most efficient option, logistically, given the expense and time required to build a Jones Act compliant WTIV, other options used by U.S. developers have been to transport turbine components from a more distant foreign port (e.g., in Canada) or to use U.S.-built barges to transport components out to a stationary WTIV. However, the barge-to-WTIV scenario may run contrary to the objectives of U.S. maritime policy such as the Jones Act: ships for overseas deployment in time of war and a fleet of the best-equipped, safest, and most suitable types of vessels constructed in the United States. The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) representing U.S.-built vessel owners has deployed the vessel Jones Act Enforcer to patrol wind farm construction sites, film any Jones Act violations (such as foreign WTIVs engaging in transportation), and submit any evidence to CBP. DOE estimates that the United States needs four to six WTIVs to meet its wind-generation goals; there are no reports of a U.S. shipyard constructing a second WTIV (one order was cancelled). DOE also estimates the United States needs four to six general purpose heavy-lift vessels, similar in design to WTIVs. Before a turbine is built, seafloor scouring around its base is prevented with a ring of rocks. This requires a rock installation vessel with a fallpipe to arrange the rocks on the seafloor. Construction of a rock installation vessel began at a Wisconsin shipyard in July 2023, with delivery expected in the mid-2020s. A second such vessel is needed, according to DOE, but no domestic construction plans have been announced. Demonstrating that the Jones Act's applicability can be case specific, CBP has ruled that the initial trip of a fallpipe vessel need not be Jones Act compliant because the pristine seabed is not a U.S. point, but subsequent deliveries would have to comply with the act. That a pristine seabed is not a U.S. point is being challenged in court by OMSA and the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA). A service operation vessel (SOV) is a floating hotel for construction workers as well as a workshop and storage facility for spare parts. Since these vessels are engaged in transporting merchandise and passengers from a U.S. shore point to a wind farm, under the Jones Act they must be U.S.-built. Two SOVs are being constructed at Gulf Coast 0

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