If you’re thinking about starting a US offshore wind farm, it’s important to know about the potential problems, pitfalls, and bottlenecks you could run into at every stage of the process. The entire development of an offshore wind farm can take an astounding 10 years, and these bottlenecks could result in major delays, potentially adding several more years to the process unnecessarily.
We’ll cover the top four areas where you might run into bottlenecks during your wind farm’s development, why documentation matters, and how you can overcome potential issues with help from technical writers at every step of the way.
Bottleneck #1: Business Operations and Planning
Before you can even begin to consider a site for your offshore wind farm or begin assessments, your organization must get past the planning stage. This means ensuring your company has all the documentation needed to perform your operations safely and efficiently. And this goes much further than just creating a checklist or to-do list for each of your job titles.
How Can Poor Documentation Create this Bottleneck?
Do you have employee handbooks that outline employees’ rights or detail company expectations? Not having current and correct handbooks for your team members can lead to serious issues – not only now, but years down the line. Lack of sexual harassment policies, for example, can result in expensive lawsuits.
Or do you have the proper forms and procedures for paying your organization’s taxes? Missing important tax deadlines or needed paperwork can cause you to incur heavy fines or might even lead to the collapse of your business.
Not having the correct forms, procedures, and documentation from day one could mean you are making the development of your offshore wind farm much more costly and time-consuming than it needs to be. It can even result in your wind farm never becoming a reality.
How Can Technical Writing Help You Avoid this Bottleneck?
The easiest way to avoid this bottleneck is to work with a technical writing company that understands your industry and the requirements for you to do business. They will help you create a checklist of all the documentation you need before you even open your doors, as well as develop ongoing procedures and policies as your business grows and changes.
Some documentation a technical writer will recommend for an offshore wind farm includes
- Standards and procedures for
- departments
- individual jobs
- and more
- Workplace policies
- Employee handbooks
- Contact information for
- hardware and software vendors and technical support
- partners
- emergencies
- managers
- and more
- Tax information and forms
- Relevant permit information and details
- Accounting procedures
- Safety instructions
- Lease agreements
As your business grows and your offshore wind farm becomes a reality, these documents will need adjusting to fit your changing needs as well as any changes in regulatory or industry requirements. Because these documents aren’t “once and done,” technical writers can keep on top of those changes for you and advise on the direction needed to stay ahead before you’re met with fines or other problems.
Bottleneck #2: Crafting your Site Assessment Plan
Did you know that completing the Site Assessment Plan (SAP) required by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) can take five years? The last thing you need is a bottleneck holding up this already lengthy operation.
During this stage of offshore wind farm development, organizations are required to collect data that provides “a description of the proposed site assessment or technology testing activities that you plan to perform on your commercial lease.”
This documentation requires developers to carry out site research covering a range of environmental factors, including
- Details of the seabed
- Waves
- Currents
- Animal migration
- Marine growth
- Salinity
- Icing
- Water depth
- And more
How Does Poor Documentation Create this Bottleneck?
Poor documentation can make crafting the SAP much more expensive, cause further schedule delays if BOEM rejects the submitted information, and potentially cause unnecessary safety risks.
Lack of data collection procedures can mean the information you’re collecting is incorrect. You may have inaccurate data on the water depth or salinity of the site, or you could present misleading or contradictory information that isn’t safe.
Improper safety policies during site assessments can lead to any number of issues, including accidents, injuries, lawsuits, loss of costly equipment, and even the death of an employee. Failure to document these procedures can then result in hefty fines, loss of the site lease, or the closure of your company.
How Can Technical Writing Help You Overcome This Bottleneck?
It’s important to get your SAP right the first time. Technical writers understand the data you’ve acquired and how it has to be organized to fit BOEM’s expectations. Technical writers can also let you know if you’re missing a vital piece of the puzzle. This work reduces the chance of requests for more information by BOEM and the potential for data mishaps.
Bottleneck #3: Creating Your Construction and Operations Plan
After your SAP is approved by BOEM, you will have to submit a Construction and Operations Plan (COP). This plan will detail operations and facilities you plan to construct both offshore and onshore. The information required by the COP will depend on the scope of your project. This process is not as long as the site assessment – it takes on average about two years to complete.
You might also have to submit a Project Design Envelope (PDE), Facility Design Report (FDR), and Fabrication and Installation Report (FIR). This documentation should include
- Project design information
- Drawings of structures
- Environmental data
- Calculations
- Permits
- Installation information
- Project easement
- Fabrication information
- And more
How Can Poor Documentation Create this Bottleneck?
The shorter period to develop your COP doesn’t mean there isn’t room for bottlenecks, though. Just like with the SAP, you can run into similar issues if you have poor documentation: BOEM could decline your COP, resulting in project and construction delays, and requiring you to resubmit your paperwork.
How Can Technical Writing Help You Overcome This Bottleneck?
As with your SAP, technical writers with experience in the offshore wind industry understand what BOEM is looking for when it comes to the COP and its supporting documentation. They can ensure you get it right the first time, saving you from any unnecessary delays.
Bottleneck #4: Problems with Construction
Submitting your COP doesn’t quite get the construction for you – there is still the actual act of building your facilities, both offshore and on. While installing a wind turbine can take only about 24 hours, that doesn’t mean it can all be built overnight. You need to have strategies for your construction – and documentation to back it up.
How Can Poor Documentation Create this Bottleneck?
Failure to outline proper operations and safety procedures for construction can result in major project delays. Poor outlining of the construction plan, for example, could mean you reverse the proper order or procedure. It’s also essential that employees follow the procedures laid out in the COP and its supporting documentation.Without detailed paperwork, employees could make mistakes
And, as with any construction site, lack of documentation can cause
- Accidents resulting in injury or death
- Lawsuits
- Use of incorrect building materials or methods
- Construction delays
- Required rework
- Wasted materials
- Wasted labor
- Communication problems
- Poor response to change orders
- Loss of lease or permits
- Fines
How Can Technical Writing Help You Overcome This Bottleneck?
Technical writers with construction project experience understand that there is a method to the work. There are internal policies to follow, as well as federal, state, and local laws. Experienced technical writers can help ensure that your documentation meets current requirements, and can also adjust the documents if needed if new regulations come out at any point during construction. They can also confirm that you’re carefully outlining jobs, safety procedures, and more so your employees always understand what is required of them for their protection and the efficiency of the work.
It might take only 24 hours to install an offshore wind turbine with the right equipment, but that doesn’t mean you can get your offshore wind farm up and running overnight – or even in a week. It’s a lengthy process that can be extended if you’re making serious mistakes or running into preventable bottlenecks. Proper documentation is one of the best ways to avoid these risks completely and know your project will be successful.
Are you developing an offshore wind farm? It’s essential to work with a technical writing team that understands your industry, the operations and procedures of running a wind farm, and what BOEM expects of you in terms of documentation, reports, and policies. Reach out to us here to discover more about how we help assist organizations like yours in the energy industry! Our experts can help you organize your data efficiently and correctly, meaning fewer rewrites and less reworking, and saving you money and time.
Learn more about the Foundational Documentation required for planning, constructing, and operating an offshore wind farm here!
