Offshore wind developer to open Providence hub

Providence — An offshore wind developer is opening a hub in Providence that its executives hope will help accelerate the takeoff of the industry in the United States.

Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind, a division of the Denmark-based Ørsted, will launch its U.S. innovation hub in Providence on Monday. Ørsted employees will meet at the hub with U.S.based startups and small companies to discuss early-stage technologies to address issues the industry faces.

Ørsted could potentially help these companies bring solutions to the market faster to help accelerate and scale the U.S. industry, said Thomas Nygaard Hamann, Ørsted’s head of strategy, digital and innovation.

“In essence, a lot of this is really about taking the global know-how that we bring on this industry and connecting that to novel innovation in the U.S.,” said Hamann, who is based in Copenhagen.

Ørsted is looking for ways to better monitor the movements of whales near wind farms, and ideas for reducing noise when turbines are installed, for example, Hamann said. Last year, to ensure that its technicians could safely transfer between small boats and offshore wind turbines, Ørsted signed a deal to invest in the Scottish company Pict Offshore, which had developed a hoist system.

Ørsted bought Providence-based Deepwater Wind in 2018. Deepwater Wind began operating the first U.S. offshore wind farm off of Block Island, Rhode Island, in late 2016. The U.S. operations for Ørsted are jointly headquartered in Providence and Boston.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said the hub’s opening further cements the state’s “status as America’s offshore wind capital.”