New Orleans/Baton Rouge, 18 December 2023
RWE, a leading offshore wind company globally, and Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) today released the findings of a one year collaboration to accelerate the engagement of Louisiana’s offshore wind supply chain. The result of the engagement is a database revealing more than 123 Louisiana businesses from Lake Charles, Houma/Thibodeaux, Lafayette, New Orleans-Baton Rouge, and across the central and northern regions of the state are operationally ready to support the national offshore wind supply chain.
The database underscores the existing and future potential for the Gulf Coast to support the domestic offshore wind industry. Companies in the database provide services across six major work packages: Wind Turbine Generators, Professional Services, Balance of Plant, Installation & Commissioning, Operation & Maintenance, and Mooring and Anchoring. Further, of the 123 companies, 95 percent are small businesses as defined by the Small Business Administration and 42 percent of companies have future investment plans to prepare for offshore wind business opportunities.
Amanda Lefton, RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, VP of Development East said, “Even before obtaining a lease off the coast of Louisiana, RWE recognized the value that the Gulf Coast plays in the national offshore wind supply chain. In a time where every megawatt counts, it’s essential to proactively identify gaps in the supply chain that can be met by local businesses. RWE is committed to building the domestic supply chain and activating businesses of all sizes and capabilities to support the deployment of a clean, US-made energy source.”
Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. said, “The creation of this resource demonstrates the value of partnership between industry and economic development. The offshore wind supplier database will play an important role in growing the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore wind sector by connecting local suppliers with international developers, showcasing the great potential for Louisiana companies to support the national offshore wind industry.”
The Louisiana Offshore Wind Supplier Database can be accessed here. Included in the database are Louisiana-based companies spanning professional services with deep offshore energy expertise, operations and maintenance services around port logistics, inspection, and health and training, fabrication services around jackets and monopiles and supporting services. The resource will be frequently updated by GNO, Inc. to reflect new company additions and additional services an existing database company may want to feature.
Through its GNOwind Alliance (GNOwind) initiative, GNO, Inc. will continue to engage local suppliers, conduct additional market-enabling activities, and coordinate with state and federal agencies on offshore wind development. GNOwind’s 250+ member companies hail from across Louisiana and beyond with a shared vision for harnessing the state’s potential as a driving force and helping hand for national offshore wind deployment.
Joseph Orgeron, Ph.D., Representative, District 54, Louisiana House of Representatives said, “As Louisiana and the Gulf gear-up to add offshore wind to its energy portfolio, it appears that many of the existing service companies, who have long supported the offshore energy production, are stepping up to engage the industry. They understand that offshore wind developers are looking for experienced, established companies to help build up this nascent industry and using a tool such as this will be a clear asset for supporting their success.”
In August 2023, RWE became the provisional leaseholder in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s first Gulf of Mexico lease auction. The awarded seabed is located 44 miles off the coast of Lake Charles and could support about 2 GW of offshore wind capacity. The company has a signed Memorandum of Understanding with Entergy, which owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale US power generation fleets, to evaluate the delivery of clean energy from offshore wind to customers in Louisiana and Texas.
RWE has a leading offshore wind development portfolio in the U.S. which includes Community Offshore Wind, located off the coasts of New York and New Jersey with a potential installed capacity of about 3.2 GW. In October, Community Offshore Wind was provisionally awarded a 1.3 GW offtake contract by New York State. RWE is also advancing one of the first commercial scale floating offshore wind projects in the U.S. off the northern coast of California with a potential installed capacity of about 1.6 GW.
