Updated: Man dies in 'tragic incident' at EDF wind project in Texas - Windpower Monthly
Updated: Man dies in 'tragic incident' at EDF wind project in Texas | Windpower Monthly
The incident happened last Wednesday (24 April) at the 68MW Windthorst-2 project in Archer County, north Texas, according to local media station Kauz News Channel 6.
According to the news outlet, the Archer County Sheriff’s Office named the man as 31-year-old Marco Anthony Portillo Jr.
A Go-Fund-Me fundraising page dedicated to Portillo Jr - who is described as a father of four children - has currently raised over $14,800 (€13,815) for his family.
Windthorst II Wind was developed by OwnEnergy, a subsidiary of French utility EDF, and was later bought by the Blackrock investment company.
A spokesperson for EDF Renewables told Windpower Monthly the company was working with the authorities investigating the incident.
"EDF Renewables is saddened to learn of the tragic incident. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased. We are working closely with the contractor and authorities in the investigation of the incident," a statement from the company read.
Windthorst II Wind came online in 2014 and uses 28 of Siemens Gamesa’s SWT-2.3-108 turbines according to Windpower Intelligence, the data and research division of Windpower Monthly.
Windpower Monthly contacted Archer County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.