The US ports of Portsmouth in Virginia and Albany in New York have secured federal funds to help with redevelopment to support the offshore wind industry.
Albany has been awarded $29.5m (€26.0m) and Portsmouth $20m from the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).
At Albany the plan is to construct infrastructure to develop 33 hectares of a vacant industrial area along the Hudson River immediately south of the existing Port District into an offshore wind tower manufacturing port.
The project will also redevelop an additional six vacant hectares inside the Port of Albany.
The scope encompasses all the necessary infrastructure design and construction to develop tower manufacturing at the port, as well as an access bridge and connector roadway, internal roads, utility site work and infrastructure, upland preparation, berth dredging and heavy capacity wharf construction.
The Portsmouth Marine Terminal will be developed to enable it to serve as a staging area in support of offshore wind farms.
The grant will fund construction of a turbine staging area in the uplands adjacent to one of the terminal’s wharves and a second area where monopiles and other project components will be stored.
Over $241m was awarded to 25 projects to improve port facilities in 19 states and one territory through the PIDP in 2021.
Equinor is planning to build an offshore wind tower and transition piece manufacturing facility at the Port of Albany, an impression of which is pictured.