First Jones Act wind farm SOV under construction

The vessel, ECO Edison, is being built at ECO in-house shipyards located in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. The vessel will be over 80 metres long (260 feet) and capable of housing 60 crew members and will be utilised during the operation and maintenance (O&M) phases of the wind-farm projects, serving as an at-sea base of operations to accommodate and transfer technicians, tools and parts safely to and from the individual wind turbine generators.

With work beginning on the vessel, ECO has also announced the selection of Caterpillar Marine, GE Power Conversion and Voith Schneider as power and propulsion system providers for the ECO EDISON. The vessel will be powered by four Caterpillar 3512E EPA Tier 4 generator sets (gensets), each rated for 1700 ekW. The gensets are configured for variable speed operation, allowing for the highest levels of efficiency and minimized exhaust emissions. The GE Power Conversion electrical system can operate with gensets or stored energy.

The latest generation of Voith Schneider Propellers (VSPs), featuring integrated permanent magnet motors, are utilised for propulsion. These propellers have a rapid thrust and steering response, with minimal noise and vibration. The thrusters also feature roll reduction and sleep mode, maximizing station keeping, active motion compensated gangway workability and comfort. The vessel will also be equipped with extensive remote monitoring and support capability provided by Marine Technologies.

The full configuration results in a vessel that delivers high efficiency, low power consumption, minimum GHG emissions, maximum workability and the highest levels of comfort. The vessel is also being constructed to incorporate future zero-carbon emission technology to assist in reaching carbon-neutral goals.

ECO Edison will be delivered in 2024 and immediately provide operational support out of Port Jefferson, New York, for Ørsted and Eversource’s joint venture offshore wind portfolio, which includes South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind. Once complete, South Fork Wind, Sunrise Wind and Revolution Wind will generate approximately 1.8 GW of offshore wind power, enough to power over a million homes.