The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts the industry will employ 43,000 people along the East Coast by 2030, and as a result, will create thousands of jobs in southeastern Massachusetts, providing area residents career opportunities in the emerging 21st-century global economy. The U.S. offshore wind industry is emerging in the North Atlantic near the Massachusetts coastline and Bristol Community College is leading the way in workforce development.  

Course Description:

Offshore Wind Orientation will provide a broad introduction to offshore wind as an industry and technical specialization. This 2-day, 4-hour class (8:00 am to 10:00 am) is aimed at those looking to understand more about the sector, with the intention of becoming part of the supply chain, or for satisfying general interest in this emerging industry. Equally, the course aims to provide students with a broad vocabulary of offshore wind and the confidence to engage with offshore wind professionals in a coherent manner. Content will include an overview of offshore wind technology and its increasingly important role in power generation; the process of permitting, site construction and operation; the opportunities for the USA’s emergent offshore wind sector to make its mark globally, and an introduction to those currently leading the development of this burgeoning, global industry.

Learning Objectives:

On successful completion of this module, students will have a good understanding of:

• The energy mix and offshore wind’s role in it
• Where offshore wind developments can be found around the world
• Onshore versus offshore wind – the key differences
• Who is big in offshore wind - ‘developers’ and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
• The stages required to bring an offshore wind farm to life
• The stages of an offshore wind farm’s life
• The main components of an offshore wind farm
• The importance of effective operations and maintenance
• Latest perspectives on floating versus fixed structures
• The composition of the offshore wind supply chain, including possible entry points
• The key US stakeholders in offshore wind
• How the US offshore wind sector might develop over the next 10 years
• The skills required to grow an indigenous US offshore wind industry
• Offshore wind terminology, via a glossary of terms

About the Instructor:

Dr Alan Lowdon, Director of Strategic Development for the National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) over 30 years’ experience as a practitioner within the international energy and utilities sectors, having held senior positions with international corporations, Rolls Royce Industrial Power, British Gas, Suez, Shell, Mott MacDonald and Jacobs. At Mott MacDonald, Alan was involved in wind resource analyses for the Cape Wind and Fishermen’s Energy offshore wind projects. He has also acted as an advisor to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s offshore wind farm in Cleveland, OH.  

Read full bio: Dr Alan Lowdon Bio 2021

Link to Bristol National Offshore Wind Institute website: http://nowi.org/ 

The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts the industry will employ 43,000 people along the East Coast by 2030, and as a result, will create thousands of jobs in southeastern Massachusetts, providing area residents career opportunities in the emerging 21st-century global economy. The U.S. offshore wind industry is emerging in the North Atlantic near the Massachusetts coastline and Bristol Community College is leading the way in workforce development.   

Course Description:

Onshore Supply to Offshore Wind will provide a basic introduction to the opportunities for land-based organizations interested in entering the offshore wind market. The course will be segmented into three – technical, professional services and ancillary elements.  

Under ‘technical’, suppliers of consumables such as paints, sprays, tapes, ropes, and fasteners represent an important cog in the machine of offshore wind. Similarly, suppliers of sensors, IT systems, instrumentation and control equipment have a tremendous opportunity to diversify traditional business lines and markets and add huge value to the challenges faced by offshore wind. Under this section, the course will also look at the overlap between other safety-critical sectors such as aerospace, oil & gas, automotive, nuclear and defense to raise awareness of the opportunities for transferring products and services into offshore wind, and to build confidence to do so.  

Technical aspects of the course will be complemented by awareness raising around the ‘professional services’ opportunities presented by the sector – legal, financial, intellectual property, consulting and training. Explanations will be given of how professional services providers can engage with the sector and the types of readjustments required by their businesses to do so.   

The final section will cover ‘ancillary’ elements of the offshore wind supply chain that have been shown in other parts of the world to be key to support the growth of the offshore wind sector. This will be of value of owners and operators of hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, boat yards, taxis, car sales & rental firms, realtors, etc. In short, this section of the course will cover the ‘hygiene factors’ that need to be in place to support i) a growing, transient, dynamic workforce with significant disposable income plus ii) their employers or clients that need to provide a safe, comfortable and pleasant experience to retain staff and service providers.  

Learning Objectives :

• On successful completion of this module, students will understand:  
• The holistic nature of the supporting infrastructure needed by offshore wind.  
• The onshore-based technical, professional, and logistical services components that make up the offshore wind support mechanism.  
• How existing products and services could map onto the needs of the sector.  

The course will also:  

• Stimulate interest in the sector of firms previously unsure of the relevance of it to them and/or how to enter the offshore wind market.  
• Increase the confidence of firms to approach the sector with their offerings.  
• Improve the chances of companies to enter the sector quickly to diversify and grow their businesses.  
• Help to develop local supply chains to support economic development.  

About the Instructor:

Dr Alan Lowdon, Director of Strategic Development for the National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) over 30 years’ experience as a practitioner within the international energy and utilities sectors, having held senior positions with international corporations, Rolls Royce Industrial Power, British Gas, Suez, Shell, Mott MacDonald and Jacobs. At Mott MacDonald, Alan was involved in wind resource analyses for the Cape Wind and Fishermen’s Energy offshore wind projects. He has also acted as an advisor to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s offshore wind farm in Cleveland, OH.  

Read full bio: Dr Alan Lowdon Bio 2021

Link to Bristol National Offshore Wind Institute website: http://nowi.org/

The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts the industry will employ 43,000 people along the East Coast by 2030, and as a result, will create thousands of jobs in southeastern Massachusetts, providing area residents career opportunities in the emerging 21st-century global economy. The U.S. offshore wind industry is emerging in the North Atlantic near the Massachusetts coastline and Bristol Community College is leading the way in workforce development.   

Course Description:

This 2 day, 4-hour (8 am - 10 am) Offshore Wind Operations and Maintenance class will provide an offshore wind-specific introduction to those trained in managing large infrastructure assets in other sectors and, those looking to orient their careers to this aspect of the offshore wind industry. Given the retirement of traditional forms of power generation technology in the Commonwealth, this is particularly apt. The reorientation of core, asset management skills into offshore wind represents a huge opportunity for both the individuals and the sector, as does attracting new talent into the O&M space.  

The course will draw upon Bristol Community College’s experience delivering its established, credit program in offshore wind operation and maintenance. In addition, the course will draw upon the instructor’s experience as an experienced asset management practitioner in the wind sector. The course will explore the key components of an offshore wind farm – surface and sub-sea - that require attention over the asset’s life, highlighting typical degradation mechanisms at play. This ties in nicely with the emergence of a plethora of technologies to improve the accuracy of asset inspections.  

The course will follow the established asset management model of ‘managing the bathtub curve’ – running the asset in, maintaining it in as near an optimal state of performance for as long as possible, then managing the inevitable up-turn in costs associated with performance degradation ahead of decommissioning. These concepts will be familiar with asset/maintenance managers in other sectors and will be an attractive model for those new to the sector to grasp. The content will frame these concepts in an offshore wind context and highlight some of the key O&M techniques, practices and challenges that offshore wind faces. The contribution of O&M to the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) will also be touched upon to underscore the importance of its efficient management.  

One of the key advances in offshore wind operations and maintenance in recent times has been the arrival of embedded digital sophistication to make the wind turbine generator system ‘smart’. This has increased the degree of insight that asset owners and operators have of the performance of their equipment. In turn, this allows optimum interventions to be made of a maintenance variety. It also allows the assets to be operated in a particular manner, with lifecycle performance in mind. The course will provide a broad overview of the impact of digital sophistication on the O&M process and how this can continue to be positively impacted by other safety-critical sectors.  

One aspect that the course will explore in slightly greater depth is the challenge posed by the ‘in-warranty’ versus ‘out-of-warranty’ periods of an asset’s life and how this impacts the O&M processes at play. For new entrants into the offshore wind sector, this level of insight is extremely important to have as soon as is practicable.   

Finally, some coverage will be given to the importance of ‘human factors’ in the efficient delivery of the offshore wind O&M process. In particular, the interplay between sea-borne logistics, ocean states and the ability of offshore wind technicians to perform their duties upon arrival at an offshore wind farm will be discussed.  

About the Instructor:

Dr Alan Lowdon, Director of Strategic Development for the National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) over 30 years’ experience as a practitioner within the international energy and utilities sectors, having held senior positions with international corporations, Rolls Royce Industrial Power, British Gas, Suez, Shell, Mott MacDonald and Jacobs. At Mott MacDonald, Alan was involved in wind resource analyses for the Cape Wind and Fishermen’s Energy offshore wind projects. He has also acted as an advisor to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s offshore wind farm in Cleveland, OH.  

Read full bio: Dr Alan Lowdon Bio 2021

Link to Bristol National Offshore Wind Institute website: http://nowi.org/