Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource have awarded HeliService USA the contract for helicopter crew change operations for the two companies’ joint venture wind projects in the Northeast United States.
According to Ørsted, the contract is the first helicopter contract to support the United States offshore wind industry.
The Leonardo AW169 helicopters are powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW210 series engines and are capable of crew transport as well as utilizing a hoist system to lift wind technicians to and from the top of wind turbines.
The aircraft will support crew transfer and hoisting at the South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind offshore wind farms during construction. They will be assembled on the Leonardo Helicopters assembly line in Philadelphia, Pa.
The contract will also bring approximately $1.8 million of investment to the Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown, R.I. in the form of new infrastructure and equipment, and will lead to the creation of multiple jobs, Ørsted said, adding that upgrades at the Airport will include new check-in and reception spaces, handling and administrative buildings for helicopter operations and upgrades to hangar and maintenance areas.
Once complete, South Fork Wind, Sunrise Wind and Revolution Wind will generate approximately 1.8 GW of offshore wind power, enough to power over a million homes.
Ørsted and Eversourc recently announced that work has started on the first U.S.-built service operations vessel (SOV), and crew transfer vessel charter agreements that will support the building of five new vessels in Rhode Island shipyards.