Costs soar to $715m for US’ only wind installation vessel on new turbine specs and financing
Owner Dominion says $90m hike over last quarter reflects 'normal modifications' for ship ordered long before Siemens Gamesa finalised design of 14.7MW machines
The vessel under construction at Seatrium’s Brownsville, Texas, shipyard is 89% complete and is scheduled for delivery by late 2024 or early 2025, Dominion confirmed.
“Drivers for the increased cost are modifications to accommodate project specific turbine loads based on final certified weights and dimensions of the equipment and additional financing costs,” Dominion CEO Bob Blue said during today’s earning call.
Jones Act-qualified
Charybdis, the only Jones Act-qualified US-built and flagged WTIV, was ordered in 2020 for the Dominion’s nation-leading, 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.
Siemens Gamesa’s 11MW turbines were originally in the frame for CVOW, but this was later changed to the OEM’s latest 14-236 DD models.
“We had to order this ship long before the final turbine design was complete for our project,” said Diane Leopold, Dominion's chief operation officer.
“Based on the final loadings, there's some additional deck stiffening and reinforcement for the towers and to support the cantilever blade racks; that's really what's driving it,” she said.
“It's not any kind of scope change in the ship. It's just some of these normal modifications,” she added.
The vessel was originally estimated at $500m and was slated for delivery in early 2024.
The current cost hikes include $55m in Capex, with the remainder in related financing.
“We don't expect there to be any other increases. I'll say that we're very confident in that,” said Steven Ridge, Dominion's chief financial officer.
CVOW has been fully permitted by federal coastal regulator Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Belgian marine contractor Deme has begun monopile installation at the lease area 27 miles (43 km) off the coast of Virginia Beach. Dominion expects to complete construction of all 176 turbines by late 2026.
US shipbuilding
US offshore wind has spurred major orders from domestic shipyards for Jones Act-qualified vessels, with renewables advocate American Clean Power Association (ACP) tracking some 40 vessels either under construction or retrofit for the sector.