Construction Manager on the Vineyard Wind 1 Project
My name is Lasse Paulsen. I am working as a Director in New Power Partners and the first employee in the US, where I have lived since 2020. I have just had my 5th anniversary in New Power Partners and have my 10th anniversary in the offshore wind industry last month.
I am currently the Construction Manager on the Vineyard Wind 1 Project. Amongst my team’s responsibilities are the monitoring of the offshore works, UXO clearance, offshore logistics, and additional services, such as Marine Warranty Surveyors, weather forecasts, operations facilities, etc.
In a typical workday , I check in with my team and other packages to hear what they are working on and mainly if they have any issues where they need help. I will also coordinate and manage the subcontractors connected directly to me. The most exciting to me is to be close to the actual construction and see the day-to-day process and of course, culminating in the different positions being completely done one by one.
We are learning from each other’s experiences
I like working for New Power Partners because of the close ties I have with my colleagues. It was a huge help for me, in the beginning, to be able to reach out to a co-worker who had been in similar situations to learn from them and bounce off ideas. I am also having colleagues reaching out to me, to bounce off their ideas and cut into my experience. One of the latest examples is a newly developed interface tool, which I can see being put to great use and making a detailed level technical overview, significantly easier.
I have been using this a lot since the beginning when I started on the Vineyard Wind 1 project. The USA offshore wind market was immature when I started but luckily, I had some colleagues in Taiwan, who had been through very similar experiences in their start-up phase. This helped to overcome some of the hurdles that are taken for granted in the more mature European market.
First power on the offshore wind project proves the fruit of hard work
Vineyard Wind 1 is the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US. I joined the project in late 2018, not long after they had signed their power purchase agreements. The project started offshore construction in late 2022, with the export cables and following with all the other offshore components between late spring and early fall. The project started exporting power this year, which for me is always the most special milestone, and it really proves the fruit of all the hard work.
I look optimistic at the future of the US offshore wind industry
I see the future for the US offshore wind industry as bright. I know that the current picture painted in the press might look dark and gloomy with cancelled projects. It has of course seen a setback compared to the outlook 3 years ago.
However, looking at the commitment from a federal, state, and local political level, but also the commitments from developers and suppliers, I am having an optimistic look at the future. There is no doubt that the suppliers I am dealing with have made and a willing to make the investments to help accelerate the development. I know that the political leadership quickly can change this, but I hope that political stability, current commitments, and short- and long-term outlook will be enough to build the industry to the same level and even beyond what is currently seen in Europe .