b'TEXAS OFFSHORE WIND LAUNCH DOESNT FLYBut Corpus Christi continues rolling in project cargoBy Tad Thompson, AJOTSeptember 2023 | Published in AJOT Issue #757Inrecentyears,onshorewindenergy(BOEM) executes these three lease areas,improvementwherewecouldpotentially componentshavebeenstrongprojectcompanies in the Gulf will have their open- house these large components in the sense cargo trade for the Port of Corpus Christi. ingshottoshowcasetheirunparalleledof marshalling a port staging port?Priscilla Torres heads wind cargo withinexpertise in offshore energy developmentThen, Aug. 29 rolled around. There were herroleontheportsfive-persontrade skills that have been honed over decadesno bidders for either of the two Texas sites! development team. Two years ago, a windin the heart of Americas oil and gas indus- Thesereceivedzerobids,Torresreiter-componentcompanybecameherfirsttry. This is a welcome development bothates. Meaning, no one wants them at this customerinthecategory,whichnowisfor a rejuvenation of economic activity ontime,forvariousreasons.Herresearch Corpus Christis largest project cargo. Thethe Gulf Coast, as well as an opportunityindicates that right now its just too expen-business has been pretty steady, she tellsfor decarbonization in some of the mostsive to develop offshore wind. The Gulf of AJOT. hard-to-abatesectorsofoureconomy.Mexico was one of the last offshore windTorres, and undoubtedly her port com- TheGulfhasalreadyplayeditspartinleasesinthestatestogoforsale.We petitorsalongcoastsofTexasandLou- offshorewinds10-plusyearsintheU.S.think its just inflation and until those prices isiana,werepleasedthatU.S.Bureauofby providing critical offshore constructioncome down, we wont see any movement. OceanandEnergyManagement(BOEM)experience. This knowledge, bolstered byShe adds, When you compare how much was offering the first offshore wind leaseAmericanbusinessingenuitypairedwithmoney the Louisiana site brought in, versus areas in the Gulf of Mexico for sale. BidsEuropeanexpertise,andthededicatedthe California or the Northeast Coast sites, were due on August 29, 2023, to buy a windwork of U.S. federal and state policymak- its miniscule. Its maybe an eighth of the farmlocationoffLouisianascoast,anders, has advanced projects up and downcost of wind farm locations on the Pacific two such Gulf sites near Galveston. theEastCoast.Andtheregionstillhasand Atlantic coasts.In August 2023, The Business Networkmore to give. Theoceanandenergymanagement for Offshore Wind promoted this opportu- In preparation for the Texas wind farms,companies are seeing that until the prices nity in a 24-page publication. Among theTorresandherCorpuscolleagueswereand inflation come down. Its not going to highlights,itwasnoted,OncetheU.S.reallyrampingup,specificallylookingatbe cost effective to lease an offshore wind Bureau of Ocean and Energy Managementinfrastructure.Whatwouldweneedforfarm.28'