Offshore Wind Upskilling Course
The Offshore Wind Upskilling Course is a comprehensive three-day program providing a detailed exploration of the offshore wind project life cycle. This course is designed to offer a thorough understanding of the intricacies within the rapidly evolving offshore wind industry.Â
The course is instructed by a team of esteemed experts with extensive experience in various aspects of offshore wind projects. It is tailored to equip participants with the knowledge necessary to navigate the challenges and opportunities within this industry.
Course Objective:
The course objective for the Offshore Wind Upskilling course is to equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of the offshore wind industry, covering project development, design and construction, operations, and decommissioning. Attendees will gain insights into the intricacies of offshore wind projects and the essential skills required to contribute to this dynamic field.
Who Should Attend?Â
Industry Professionals: This course is ideal for professionals within the energy and offshore wind sector who aim to expand their knowledge in this field.
Companies in Offshore Wind: Individuals and organizations actively engaged or considering entry into offshore wind development will find this course beneficial.
Suppliers and manufacturers looking to broaden their understanding of the offshore wind industry
Government Personnel: Government employees looking to enhance their understanding of offshore wind projects, regulations, and the broader industry will benefit from this program.
Cross-Industry Professionals: Individuals from diverse professional backgrounds seeking to leverage technical insights from the American Offshore Wind Academy are also welcome to participate.
Course Outline
Day 1: Project Development
- Introduction to the Course
  - Welcome and Course Overview
  - Course Objectives
- Onshore to Offshore Wind
  - Offshore Wind Market Trends
  - Key Players and Developments
  - Market Challenges and Opportunities
- Regulatory Framework Overview
  - Ongoing Regulatory Compliance
  - Evolving Offshore Wind Policies
  - Environmental and Safety Standard
- Overview of Development Process
  - Stages of Offshore Wind Project Development
  - Permitting and Environmental Considerations
  - Stakeholder Engagement
  - Elements of an Offshore Wind Farm
  - Offshore wind farm components and infrastructure
  - WTG components & technology overview
  - Key Design Considerations for WTGs
- Financing
  - Investment Considerations
  - Project Financing and Investment StructuresÂ
  - Financial Risk Management
- Leasing & Permitting
  - Regulatory and Licensing Requirements
  - Leasing Process
- Initial Design Concepts
  - Financial Feasibility
  - Permitting Challenges and Solutions
- Ports and Vessels I
  - Port Infrastructure
  - Vessel Types and Operations
  - Logistics and Efficiency
Day 2: Design and Construction
- Feasibility Analysis and Site characterization
  - Data Collection and Analysis
  - Metocean Assessment
  - Wind Energy Assessment
  - Geotechnical Surveys
  - Geophysical Surveys
  - Environmental Impact Assessments
  - Data Integration and Decision Making
- Detailed Project Design - FoundationÂ
 - Foundation Design Selection and their DriversÂ
 - Geotechnical and Structural Design Aspects  Â
 - Trends and InnovationsÂ
- OSW Project Design
  - Advanced Design Aspects and Considerations
  - Detailed Engineering
  - Technology Selection
  - Offshore Wind Turbine Technologies
  - Electrical Infrastructure
-Â Procurement Strategies
  - Procurement Process
  - RFP Structure, quantitative and qualitative metrics
  - Community Benefit Agreements Â
-Â Ports & Vessel IIÂ
- O&M Vessels and BasesÂ
- Access SolutionsÂ
- O&M FacilitiesÂ
- O&M StrategyÂ
-Â Floating Offshore Wind
- Floating Concept in OSW
- Type of FOSW Technologies
- Selection Process and Supply Chain
- FOSW Future Trends
Day 3: Operations and Decommissioning
- Construction Management
  - Installation Planning
  - Supply Chain Management
  - Construction Coordination
  - On-Site Construction
  - Safety Protocols
  - Quality Control
- Operations and MaintenanceÂ
  - Maintenance and Repairs
  - Performance Optimization
  - Health, Safety, and Environmental Considerations
  - Remote Monitoring and Control
  - Data Analytics
  - Cost Reduction Strategies
- Transmission
  - Electrical Systems Overview
  - Substations and Grid Connection
  - Power Transmission Challenges
  - Submarine Cable Systems
  - Installation Challenges
  - Maintenance and Repairs
  - Cabling
- Safety, Compliance, and Statutory Training
  - Safety Protocols and Training
  - Compliance Monitoring
  - Statutory Requirements
- Decommissioning
  - Decommissioning Process Overview
  - Environmental Remediation
  - Legal and Financial Aspects
- US - Looking Ahead
  - Future of Offshore Wind in the US
  - Emerging Trends and Opportunities
  - Preparing for Industry Evolution
- Course Conclusion and Certificates
Teaching Team
Jim Bennett
Former Chief of The Office of Renewable Energy Programs, BOEM
Jim Bennett, recognized both domestically and internationally as an expert on environmental review and development of natural resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), recently retired after 43 years of Federal service including more than seven years as the Renewable Energy Program Manager in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Under his leadership, the Program managed the upsurge in Atlantic renewable energy leases, the installation of the first OCS steel-in-the-water, and the approval of the first two commercial-scale wind farms in U.S. waters. Jim also led the Bureau’s Division of Environmental Assessment for many years. He now shares his vast experience and unique expertise with our new national offshore wind industry. He provides industry training and is currently associated with the highly ranked, full-service global business and technology consultancy Burns & MacDonnell.
Serene Hamsho
President, American Offshore Wind AcademyÂ
Serene Hamsho serves as the President of the American Offshore Wind Academy, an innovative initiative backed by the industry leaders in the offshore wind sector. The Academy is dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the offshore wind industry, both within the United States and on a global scale, through extensive education, training programs, and fostering collaborative efforts.
Serene has more than 14 years of diverse experience within the wind energy sector. Her career includes the role of Director of Technology and Innovation at Hexicon North America, where she focused on pioneering advancements in floating offshore wind technology. Prior to this position, Serene held the position of Senior Engineering Manager at Avangrid Renewables, where she was responsible for overseeing engineering activities pertaining to multi-billion-dollar offshore wind farm projects across North America. Her journey also encompasses a period as a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, during which she played an influential role in the development of cutting-edge offshore wind technologies.
Jay Borkland
Director of Ports and Supply Chain, Avangrid
Mr. Borkland currently holds a Director position in Ports and Supply Chain Development at Avangrid Renewables in the U.S. He is a Visiting Scholar at Tufts University in Massachusetts, teaching and conducting research in Offshore Wind and Sustainability. Mr. Borkland is also currently acting as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Offshore Wind trade organization: The Business Network for Offshore Wind; and is an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), where he is an editor and contributing author for UNGC document development for its Sustainability and Ocean Renewable Energy programs.Â
Over the past 38 years, Mr. Borkland has been involved in large infrastructure and energy projects, with over two decades of that in the Offshore Wind sector of the Ocean Renewable Energy arena. He was the team lead for the development and construction of the first-in-the-nation Offshore Wind marshalling port facility in the U.S. in Massachusetts, and has acted as lead and/or contributing author for the Offshore Wind Infrastructure Master Plans for the states of MA, VA, NY, CT, NJ, NC and MD. Today he stays active assisting Avangrid Renewables develop multiple Wind Farms in the U.S.
Adrienne Downey
Principal Engineer and Country Manager, Hexicon
Adrienne Downey is the Principal Engineer and Country Manager for Hexicon North America. Adrienne most recently was the Principal Engineer for offshore wind for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). During her tenure, Adrienne led NYSERDA’s nation-leading offshore wind program with the goal of reaching 9 gigawatts by 2035, and successfully procured an excess of 4.1 GW and associated port infrastructure: a total portfolio valued at over $22B USD.
Adrienne holds a degree in Chemical Engineer from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a Masters in Sustainable Environmental Systems from the Pratt Institute in New York City. She holds numerous Board seats in support of the offshore wind industry including the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium (NOWRDC), Offshore Wind California (OWC), Board Member of Marine Renewables Canada, and Advisory Board Member of the American Offshore Wind Academy (AOWA).
Theodore Paradise
Energy Partner, K&L Gates
Theodore Paradise is a Partner in the Energy, infrastructure, and Resources practice at the global law firm of K&L Gates in the Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC offices. He has over 23 years of experience in the energy industry both in private practice and as the Chief Legal and Policy Officer for a European floating offshore wind developer, and as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer and Counsel for a US-based developer of subsea transmission for offshore wind. Theodore was also in charge of transmission planning and system operations regulatory issues for a US grid operator. Theodore has a deep understanding of US regulatory law, and has represented clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in state public utility commission proceedings, and before the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Department of Energy. He has worked with clients on project RFP strategy and submissions on the east and west coasts of the US. Theodore has also been a leading policy voice on transmission for offshore wind and other renewables, educating law makers, legislators, and leading industry discussions on ways to address this industry challenge and steps that can help both scale and derisk project development, as well as participating in technical study groups. He holds his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.Â
Richard Baldwin
Senior Scientist, McAllister Marine Engineering
Mr. Baldwin currently holds a position of Senior Scientist at McAllister Marine Engineering and his practice focusses primarily on supporting the offshore wind (OSW) industry currently developing off of the coasts of the U.S., as well as addressing coastal area impacts associated with global climate change. He is a licensed Professional Geologist in New York and in Pennsylvania, and an American Institute of Professional Geologists Certified Professional Geologist. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Earth Sciences Department at State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Over the last 36 year, Mr. Baldwin has been providing subject matter expert (SME) expertise and consulting services associated with projects involving ports and harbors/waterway infrastructure studies, OSW development (including its local, national and international supply chains), OSW vessel logistics strategies, storm recovery and remedial actions, resiliency, flood-event evaluations, environmental investigations at industrial, private, federal and publicly-owned facilities. He has been involved in multiple state-led OSW ports studies and OSW strategic plans for a multitude of states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Virgina. He has designed and implemented environmental investigations, remediation work plans, evasive species identification and eradication programs, bathymetric surveys, geotechnical evaluations, regulatory permit evaluation/acquisition, contractor evaluation/oversight, and public awareness and education. In his volunteer life, Mr. Baldwin as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for the East Moriches Community Ambulance and is a Board Member of the Peconic Land Trust.
Sarah McElman
Lead Consultant, Metocean Expert Americas
Sarah McElman is a metocean analyst with a background in spectral wave modeling, computational fluid dynamics, and scale model testing. She is the former metocean lead for Avangrid Renewables and has over 10 years of experience in offshore site assessment for fixed and floating projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia. While at Avangrid, Sarah managed metocean buoy, FLiDAR, and other measurement campaigns across the US and Europe, in addition to leading the metocean dimensions of new business, development, and operational preparedness. Prior to joining Avangrid, Sarah was a computational modeler at Deltares and MARIN.
Luke Liu
Director of Flagship Investment, CIP
Luke is a Director on CIP’s Flagship Investment Team and has 10+ years of energy infrastructure investment experience. At CIP, Luke focuses on the origination and execution of CIP’s transactions in North America including offshore wind, onshore renewables, storage and transmission. Prior to joining CIP, Luke was a Director at Kindle Energy and a Vice President in Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. Luke started his career at Macquarie Capital in the principal investing group, focused on structured equity and debt investments. Throughout his career, Luke has transacted on over 10+ GW of renewable energy assets and raised over $3+ billion of project capital.  Luke received his BA from Columbia University and his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.
Dr. Mike Tabrizi, PhD PE
President and Founder of Zero-Emission Grid, LLC
Dr. Mike Tabrizi, PhD PE, is the President and Founder of Zero-Emission Grid, LLC, a prominent professional advisory firm specializing in onshore and offshore transmission, interconnection, and electricity markets. With over 15 years of experience in power grid planning and operation, Dr. Tabrizi is a nationally recognized expert in Transmission and Interconnection.
Dr. Tabrizi has played key roles as Principal Engineer and Subject Matter Expert in numerous high-profile projects, such as the PJM Offshore Transmission State Agreement Approach, New York NYSERDA long-term offshore transmission planning, ERCOT CREZ, Integration of LP&L to ERCOT, ERCOT North to Houston Transmission Project, Integration of Rayburn Electric from SPP to ERCOT, and Texas Lower Grand Valley Transmission Projects. Before establishing Zero-Emission Grid, Dr. Tabrizi was the VP of Power Grid Strategy at Lancium. Prior to his time at Lancium, he led DNV Energy Systems' North America Power System Advisory Division.
Myra Wong
Manager, Offshore Wind Turbine Generator, Invenergy
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Myra has been in the wind industry for over 12 years with a focus on wind turbine technology, with 11.5 years spent in the onshore wind division at GE Vernova. She has held roles with increasing leadership responsibility throughout the lifecycle of a wind turbine; from early design and product development to applications engineering and siting to operations engineering support. Prior to joining Invenergy, Myra led the Services Systems Engineering team at GE, a global team of engineers designing repowering and performance upgrade solutions for operating onshore wind turbines. She has also previously led the Fleet Performance Engineering for GE’s operating fleet in North America, resolving technical issues around availability and power performance as well as developing analytics to allow for proactive diagnostics with turbine operational data. Since May 2023, Myra has been at Chicago-based Invenergy, leading the technical risk assessment and due diligence of offshore wind turbine generators for Invenergy’s global offshore wind portfolio.
Myra graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and an M.Eng in Systems Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She resides in Albany, New York.
Ben Brown
Client Advisor, Marsh
Mr. Brown brings more than 12 years of technology and project development experience to INpower from the offshore wind, marine hydro kinetic, aquaculture, and renewable biofuel industries. Prior to joining INpower, Mr. Brown worked on behalf of the Business Network for Offshore Wind where consulted with companies on technology commercialization, supply chain entry, and project development needs; while also consulting with federal agencies and state governments on the impacts of policy and regulation. Before entering the insurance field, Mr. Brown operated as project development professional who helped start-ups, non-profits, and growing companies in the development of over $100 million in projects.
Sarah Collmus
Director of Training and Education, American Offshore Wind Academy / Former Offshore Wind Engineer and Technician, GE Vernova
Sarah spent 7 years with GE Vernova in various roles through all the sectors in wind through the GE leadership program Renewable Energy Development Program and in post-program roles with GE Offshore Wind and LM Wind Power. Her roles in Fleet Performance Engineering, Drive Systems Design, and a technician at Block Island Wind Farm have given her deep Operations & Maintenance understanding. Even though her training is as a Mechanical Engineer, these days she enjoys educating others on offshore wind and getting them just as excited and passionate about the industry as she is!
Michael Shaw
Senior Structural Engineer, 2H Offshore
Michael is a Senior Structural Engineer with 2H Offshore working on fixed and floating wind foundation structures. He has worked on the design of monopile and jacket foundations for fixed wind and all primary anchoring types for floating wind. Key areas of technical expertise include global coupled and local structural analysis of both primary and secondary steel structures. Michael holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical and Offshore Engineering, Robert Gordon University, he is also a chartered engineer with IMechE.
Creed Goff, R.G.
Technical Director - Geotechnical Division, Alpine
Mr. Goff, Technical Director of the Geotechnical Division at Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey Inc., is a Registered Geologist (R.G.) with 5 years of academic and 10 years of professional experience. His role involves managing and training field geotechnical personnel, providing technical support for commercial and field operations, and project management. Engaged in mobilizations, acquisition, processing, and QA/QC, Mr. Goff's expertise spans geological, geotechnical, engineering support, and environmental studies in maritime and terrestrial environments.
Beginning at the University of Arizona, he obtained a BSc. in Geology, followed by work in geotechnics in Panama, where he contributed significantly to geological surveys for hazard assessment, construction, and research projects, including work on the design of the new Panama Canal locks. Returning to the US, he joined a geotechnical engineering firm, performing data acquisition, laboratory analysis, and aiding in engineering design and construction recommendations across the central US.
After completing an MSc. in Structural Geology with Geophysics from the University of Leeds in 2019, Mr. Goff joined Alpine in 2021. His diverse involvement includes geotechnical and geophysical surveys, focusing on sediment sampling site investigations along the eastern US for cable route studies and cable landfalls, contributing to Alpine's inaugural in-house CPT system deployment.
ployment.
The course outline is subject to change and a detailed agenda will be shared after enrollment.