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?To have that much property on the waterfront with a com- bination of rail connects, airstrip and deep water access at one facility ? I think it is a fantastic asset,? Jim Dodez, VP, KVH Industries, Inc. South Kingston, R.I.-based ASA Sciences and URI Professor Emeritus of Ocean Engineering. ?The biggest competition to supporting offshore wind at Davisville is really the port?s oth- er businesses, primarily auto imports, which like wind farms, gobbles up a lot of space.? Beyond the ports, the double-edged sword of offshore wind offers still more economic opportunities. It will create more construction, design, transportation and maintenance jobs, but that?s partly because the offshore environment is more com- plex and more hostile, and easily accessed. ?You can?t just put two guys in a truck and send them out to x X number of tur- bines a day,? said Kopits. ?For starters, you need a vessel , and it has to be crewed, and you?ll probably need a barge as well ? you can see how much more expensive this is going to be.? And there are the project-speci c vessels that will have to be built to construct the platforms and haul huge payloads once the industry gets underway. These include new-generation purpose-built vessels heavy lift vessels, jackups, offshore sup- ply vessels, transport vessels and barges and cable lay ves- sels. The available eet of construction vessels today are in the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of Europe, where Kopits says most are booked out for the next year. He estimates a combined total of 20-25 new ships of all kinds may eventually be needed, but he suspects they?ll mostly be built in non-union shipyards in the South. Designated areas for renewable energy projects around Block Island as laid out by the Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP). www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 47MTR #2 (34-49).indd 47MTR #2 (34-49).indd 473/6/2013 1:23:43 PM3/6/2013 1:23:43 PM
