Qualifications Needed by Certified Verification Agents - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 118

offshore wind industry, and BOEMRE lacks staff with experience in
regulating, designing, installing, or operating such facilities.
The lack of experience within BOEMRE with regard to offshore wind
turbine facilities could inhibit its ability to provide effective regulation.
One of its roles within the CVA process for offshore renewable projects is
to determine whether a CVA is required and whether the proposed CVA
is suitable for the tasks assigned. This role is difficult to accomplish with-
out experienced, dedicated staff. It is vital that BOEMRE act in a timely
fashion to hire staff as described in Chapter 4 in the section “Implementa-
tion: Capacity and Expertise” to fulfill its regulatory role.
The committee believes that the CVA process can produce valuable
information for BOEMRE with regard to the design and installation of
wind turbine projects in the United States. The details provided through
CVA reports during the course of the projects should be carefully reviewed
by BOEMRE and evaluated for information that may lead to better regu-
lation or better guidance documents for the industry. This would not place
additional burdens on the CVA or on developers and contractors, but it
would require BOEMRE to dedicate staff to this task.
BOEMRE may also wish to consider creating a panel of industry
experts to advise it for the duration of the first several projects. Such a
panel could provide BOEMRE with feedback and guidance on the sub-
mitted design documents and the plans for fabrication and installation.
This group of experts would also benefit BOEMRE and the industry as
they implement the first several offshore wind turbine farms in U.S.
waters. The panel would supplement the CVA for the project and would
bridge the experience gap for both the industry and the regulator. It
would also help disseminate lessons learned throughout the industry if
the panel were tasked with documenting its findings and recommenda-
tions at the completion of its mandate. Such a panel would need a range
of expertise similar to that described in the section on offshore wind tur-
bine CVA qualifications. Ideally, the panel would have expertise in design
of offshore wind or oil and gas structures; offshore transportation and
installation, particularly for fixed structures; and structural engineering
and fabrication with a preference for experience specific to offshore wind.
Panelists could come from a variety of backgrounds and could include
developers, designers, representatives from academia, and representatives