Louisiana-based Keystone Engineering Inc. has been awarded the contract to design the meteorological mast tower foundation for US Wind Inc.’s Maryland offshore wind lease area.
The foundation’s “braced-caisson” design is a proven concept in the oil and gas industry, the company highlighted.
The US Wind met mast will be the first structure installed as part of its planned commercial-scale wind farm capable of generating 500 MW of power in the 80,000 acre area 15 miles off the coast of Maryland. The wind farm is expected to provide energy to around 300,000 homes.
This award marks the fifth fixed-bottom foundation design contract for Keystone Engineering in the US offshore wind market and second met mast foundation design.
In 2011, Keystone’s patented foundation design, the “Twisted Jacket”, was installed in the UK North Sea after winning the UK Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator foundation design competition.
In 2014, the US Department of Energy selected two out of three projects utilizing Keystone’s “Twisted Jacket” foundation design to receive $47 million each in federal grant funding.
In addition, Keystone also designed the foundations for the first offshore wind farm in the US, which is currently under construction off Rhode Island’s coast.