b'14American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(REVEALScontinued from page 8) mitigate risk and strengthen competi-ing the infrastructure, to make the porttive advantage.more accessible, and to be able to handleWood recommends scenario plan-greatervolumes,somyhypothesisisning with a digital twina virtual thatthedatashowstheinvestmentissimulation of the supply chainso beginning to pay off, Wood theorizes.youcanstresstestyourdifferent However, he adds that it is pos- options and be prepared for changes sible an expected labor disruption onanddisruptions.Understandthe the West Coastthat never material- potentialvolatilitysoyourbusiness izedalso boosted East Coast portscan have contingency plans. Its really by rerouting traditionally West Coastaboutbeingproactiveandcreative, shipments. The data supports this nar- thinkingaboutwhereyoumaybe rative, with Port Tampa Bay achiev- exposed to risk that you had not con-ing the second largest gain at 28.5%templatedpreviously,likewhatjust over 2022, while the two ports withhappened with the Francis Scott Key greatest losses by percentage were onBridge in Baltimore.theWestCoastSeattle(-31.9%)Wood concludes, I think we have and Portland (-23.5%). to recognize that we are now in a per-sistently volatile trading environment. s olare nergized The key is to get away from trying to Thereportalsohighlightsspe- predict the future and instead be ready cificcommodities.Forexample,for anything thats going to happen.Wood says the data points to steady increases in imports of solar energy components, including panels, elec- (BUILDcontinued from page 12)tronics and software.grant.Weareseeingconsistentover- Meanwhile,thePortofLong performance in this type of commod- Beachhasitsownchallengesrais-ity across all ports. I think thats a verying the funding for its offshore wind interesting signal, he explains. I thinkport, Pier Wind, which is planned& McDonnell praised the two portsOneSchatzstudy,analyzing the context is that as the prices comefor 400 acres of reclaimed land at thepioneeringefforts:Ithinkbothdevelopmentofunderwaterpower down on solar components, the greenPort of Long Beach and projected atHumboldtBayandLongBeach,transmissionfromoffshorewind energytransitionisstartingtoramp$4.7 billion. theyreallydeservealotofcredit.farms to the land-based grid, helped up. You could make the argument thatPlezia toldAJOT that the Port isThey really came outand pushedframe plans by the California Inde-some of the subsidies and actions takenstarting with a Gray Terminal con- us upfront where there was so muchpendentSystemOperator(CAISO), by the current administration to accel- cept which maximizes the possibilityuncertainty and that really goes a longwhich oversees the operation of Cali-erateinvestmentingreenenergyarefor new concepts and innovation: So,way in making the initial steps. forniasbulkelectricpowersystem paying off. The commodity data tellswhen we present on Pier Wind wind,Brian Sabina, CEO, Clean Energyandtransmissionlinestransmitted usthatthistrenddefinitelyhaslegswell describe it as sort of a Gray Ter- Terminals, said the work done by theby its member utilities. As a result, despitequestionsoveranumberofminal concept that can be divided upPorts of Long Beach and HumboldtCAISO proposes to build new sub-years about whether the U.S. is reallyto meet the most critical need. I thinkBayhaveestablishedafoundationstations: These projects are part of serious about solar energy. it provides a huge opportunity to gainof information and planning to movethe overall transmission plan to inte-Thedataalsorevealsashiftinmore efficiencies than what has beentheconceptsofoffshorewindportsgratetheoffshorewindresources centers of production of solar panels,thought of previously. A lot of thingsforward in California and the Unitedin the north coast to the rest of the assourcingbecomesmorediver- have been thought of as sort of likeStates: Over the last year, with theCAISO system.sified.In2011,Chinahad50%ofthe shoehorn, you shoehorn it into anhelp of Suzanne putting out informa-thismarket.By2023,importdutiesexisting facility. tion,Chrisputtingoutinformation,c alifornia -o regonc onsortiuMreduced Chinas share to less than 1%,Plezia is optimistic that the work- the work that we did with the OceanicAttheOffshoreWindSummit, whileVietnam,Malaysia,Thailand,force can be found to assemble the windNetwork (laid) out a national roadmapJacobsonannouncedformationofa CambodiaandIndiahaveallmadefarms, which she projects will requireforhowmuchitsgoingtotaketonew California-Oregon offshore wind significant gains. between 2,000 to 3,000 workers. deliver offshore wind infrastructure. collaboration:thePacificOffshore However, the challenge is financ- SabinanotedthatasupportWind Consortium which he described r esiliency andr esPonsiVeness ing as she told the Summit audience:systemfromotherCaliforniaportsas a university led partnership between The data from the report is deliv- We were also working on a businesswill also be necessary to provide windtheSchatzEnergyResearchCenter, ered by Descartes Datamyne, a web- planfundingandfinancinganalysisfarm components. He expects a state- theCenterforCoastalMarineSci-basedplatformthatprovidesnearfor our project. And really that chal- widenetworkofCaliforniaportstoencesatCalPoly,SanLuisObispo real-timeglobalimportandexportlengearoundfundingandfinancingback the offshore wind effort.and the Pacific Marine Energy Center trade data to help companies navigatethese major public infrastructure proj- Already, ports such as San Fran- atOregonStateUniversityWe todays unpredictable supply chain. ects that will enable an industryitcisco,OaklandandPortHuenemebelieve that its critical for universi-Thekeytakeawayfromthewont exist unless we build this infra- have had meetings with offshore windties in the proposed host communities report:itisincumbentonorganiza- structure. So, those fundamental chal- developers. tobepartnersinthesciencepolicy tionstousedatalikethistobuildlenges around funding and financingArneJacobson,Directoroftheplanninganddevelopmentthatwill resiliencyandresponsivenessintothese major infrastructure projects isSchatzEnergyResearchCenterhappen around offshore wind. theirglobalsupplychains,Woodour core focus in the next six months.andaprofessorofEnvironmentalJacobson toldAJOT he hoped the advises,addingthatcompaniesAnd really the importance of (Califor- ResourcesEngineeringatCalPolyconsortiumwouldactasasourceof need to diversify, rather than remainnia) State fundingthe State fund- Humboldt,hasbeenaleadingpro- scientificinformationandassessments dependent on one particular supplier,ing and public funding right now isponent of offshore wind in Califor- that would also head off misinformation country,regionorport.Thereportgoing to be really critical. nia. He has also directed a number ofcampaignsthathaveplaguedoffshore suggests the data can uncover alterna- SarpErsoylu,DepartmentMan- studies that laid the groundwork forwindfarmdevelopmentontheU.S. tive routes and counter strategies thatagerWesternU.S.Seaports,Burnsoffshore wind in California. (BUILDcontinued on page 22)'