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Illuminate USA Celebrates One Thousand Illuminators and One Million Solar Panels in less than One Year

Invenergy Services’ solar O&M teams identify diode failure and reverse polarity concerns with leading-edge analytics and drone inspections

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Solar operations and maintenance: A proactive approach to diode failure and reverse polarity

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Invenergy Announces $30M Center of Excellence Focused on Training and Manufacturing

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Invenergy Expands US Footprint With New Washington, D.C. Office

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Invenergy and Patria Investments Acquire 600 MW Brazil Wind Portfolio from ContourGlobal and Eletrobras

https://invenergy.com/news/power-lines/the-grid-needs-to-get-together-

The Grid Needs to Get Together     

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Expert perspectives on the critical clean energy issues of today and tomorrow.

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 provides an inside look at Invenergy’s Samson Solar Energy Center and how clean energy is powering rural communities and economies across Texas. 

 offers a glimpse into the positive impact of Invenergy’s Samson Solar Energy Center – a flagship Invenergy project at the 

 – and shows how the project is not only powering the grid, but also empowering the people and communities nearby. Located in northeast Texas, Samson Solar is the largest solar energy center in the state and was the 

 when it was announced.  The project’s scale and local impact are examples of what the growing 

 means for Texas communities and the people who live in them.

At Invenergy, being an active and responsible community partner is at the heart of everything we do. This philosophy continues to guide us as we work to build an electricity grid fit for the future. 

tells the stories of the people behind the energy expansion in Texas and what the influx of energy investment in the state means for them and their communities.

Texas has always been at the forefront of energy innovation. This year, it became the country’s leader in installed commercial solar energy capacity, marking a new chapter in the expanding clean energy economy in the state. Invenergy is proud to contribute to this growth by working with communities across Texas to deliver cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy. As the state’s economy and population continue to grow, the demand for diverse energy sources is only expected to increase. Invenergy is the partner of choice to work with Texans to meet that demand.


It kind of makes you breathe deeper and relax a little bit knowing financially it’s a little nest egg you can depend on. I think it’s going to impact us all greatly as the years move on.

Samson Solar Energy Center is powering communities in more ways than one:

Invenergy: A Partner in Texas’s Energy Future

Samson is just one of Invenergy’s many projects across the state. From the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, Invenergy has completed development on 21 clean energy projects and Invenergy Services operates 27 sites across the state.

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Red River Valley Harvest: The Story Behind Samson Solar, the Largest Solar Energy Center in Texas

It is both a fundamental need and simply good business to make the energy grid fit for the future – one that is cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable for people and communities. Demand for this secure, lower cost, and lower carbon power is increasing, and our customers rely on us to meet their needs with flexible technologies, engineering expertise, and the highest safety standards.

And while we’ve never believed at Invenergy that a single piece of legislation can dictate our success, it’s clear the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates our ability to meet our customers’ needs. It is bringing transformational energy security and reliability, job growth, and cleaner air that meaningfully improves local communities.

Take for example our efforts to reclaim solar technology leadership, domestic production, and supply chain capacity. It’s a high priority for the country and for Invenergy. The manufacturing tax credits in the IRA have been instrumental in bringing solar module manufacturing back to the United States. Invenergy is proud to be a majority owner and anchor customer of 

, a leading solar panel manufacturing facility in Pataskala, Ohio. Illuminate USA just marked the production of their 

 and hired their one thousandth employee in under one year. And when the facility reaches full production by December, it will produce 5 GW worth of panels annually—enough to power more than one million homes. With Illuminate USA, we made the first successful step towards onshoring the solar supply chain, creating jobs, and reclaiming America’s solar leadership from foreign manufacturers. This is a huge win for the clean energy transition, American leadership, and our economy.

Second, the IRA accelerated our ability to deliver cleaner, more reliable, more affordable energy and jobs to more communities. In 2022, we launched 

 to deliver community solar energy solutions across the country. Reactivate delivered significant energy, jobs, and savings since its creation—including seven community solar projects installed that will save families a minimum of 20% on their monthly electricity bills. By 2030, Reactivate seeks to develop three gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, save $50 million in energy costs for low and moderate-income households, create jobs and facilitate workforce training for 2,500 workers. The IRA is pivotal to its ability to reach these goals.

At the same time these IRA success stories have unfolded, so too has the increased demand for electricity. Driven by EVs, manufacturing growth, AI, and expanding data centers, there’s no doubt that more energy infrastructure is needed to meet the rising demand. I’ve spent more than four decades in energy, and I’ve seen upfront how time-intensive energy projects are. And while the IRA stimulated tremendous job growth and the country’s clean energy transition, it’s also shown the impact a stable energy policy landscape can have on the ability to deliver cleaner, more reliable, affordable energy.

In other words, continuation of the stable policy environment is essential to unleashing the full potential of the clean energy investments sparked by the IRA. Provisions of the law have provided certainty for companies, like Invenergy, to plan for the future and advance projects crucial to creating a more secure and reliable energy grid.  For the first time, the clean energy industry has the roadmap to make long-term investment decisions, and we’ve seen an influx of energy infrastructure investments across the country that are creating jobs and growing local economies because of it.

For the last 20 years, Invenergy has been responsibly developing, building, owning, and operating wind, solar, and natural gas generation projects, and energy storage facilities. But we believe the future requires a more robust, resilient grid which is why we’re also investing in transmission lines essential to connect clean generation capacity and move power long instances across regions from where it’s produced to where it’s needed. Doing so will increase energy reliability and resilience and reduce customer costs—just another reason why a stable policy landscape—including permitting reform—is necessary to meet future demand.

We know that America is positioned today to lead the clean energy transition, and we know that these projects are color blind: states and counties—whether red, blue, or purple—are seeing the benefit of the projects we’re deploying because they’re delivering jobs, they’re delivering workforce development opportunities, and they’re supporting regional growth and investment. We'll keep working with our public and private partners to ensure the stable policy landscape remains so we can help meet increasing demand with cleaner, more reliable, more affordable energy for all. 

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Demand for Power is Increasing. The Inflation Reduction Act Laid the Groundwork to Meet It.

This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee brought forward the Energy Permitting Reform Act for consideration – which seeks to accelerate the permitting process for energy projects in the United States, including transmission to deliver electricity across the country. Bringing this bipartisan bill forward is a major accomplishment and we’re grateful for the Committee’s leadership in this space. 

At Invenergy, we’ve never believed that a single piece of legislation or public policy determines our ability to deliver cleaner, more reliable, affordable energy. However, certain provisions of the Energy Permitting Reform Act move the needle in the right direction as we face soaring demand for secure, lower cost, and lower carbon power. We look forward to continued discussion on iterations of this draft legislation to ensure there is a level playing field for renewable energy deployment and transmission so that the industry can deliver a cleaner more robust, resilient grid that works for the environment, people, and economies. 

Invenergy has a more than 20-year track record of responsibly developing, building, owning and operating wind, solar, and natural gas generation projects and energy storage facilities. We’ve developed more than 200 projects and 32 gigawatts of generating capacity in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. We’re laser-focused every day on delivering a cleaner, more robust, and resilient grid that meets our customer’s changing energy needs with flexible technologies, engineering expertise, and the highest safety standards.

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Washington View: Introduction of permitting reform bill represents a step in the right direction

Think of solar panels like a flat screen TV. Power flows through the TV to generate the images. However, unlike the plug in the TV delivering electricity to one spot, standard solar panels are split into three distinct electrical segments. When an issue occurs in the cells of one segment of a solar panel, a bypass diode activates to route electric current around that segment so the rest of the panel can operate normally. This would be like if one-third of a TV screen broke but had a mechanism to allow the remaining two-thirds to function. This means bypass diodes allow solar panels to continue producing valuable electricity even if one of the three primary segments is experiencing an issue. However, if those diodes fail, it can create a voltage mismatch which in turn may lead to reverse polarity, or electric current flowing in the wrong direction. Sustained periods of reverse polarity can cause long-term damage to solar panels.

Solar panels are designed and tested to withstand a certain amount of reverse polarity, and manufacturers even use methods like electroluminescence testing that utilize controlled amounts of reverse polarity to identify potential issues like micro cracks before panels are put into the market. However, instances of reverse polarity may still occur. That’s where a proactive approach to solar operations and maintenance (O&M) can make a big difference.

Using drone inspections and data analytics at solar sites

Proactive preventative maintenance is at the heart of Invenergy Services’ approach to solar O&M. For solar sites, this means implementing preventative maintenance measures like annual drone inspections to proactively identify issues before they spread. Using infrared imaging technology, the drones detect abnormal heat signatures across a site and report that data to Invenergy Services’ personnel. From there, our availability engineers diagnose issues and collaborate with technicians on site to implement solutions.

“Drone flyovers are a way of getting visibility into issues you might not be able to otherwise see,” Alec Brandel, availability engineer III at Invenergy, says. “If we see a cluster of failed diodes that might cause voltage mismatch, we will work with site teams to inspect those areas sooner. Having this data helps us align our priorities better.”

Invenergy Services is actively working with customers to demonstrate the impact drone flyovers and our suite of data analytics can have on the long-term health of solar sites.

Invenergy Services’ culture of continuous learning and safety

At Invenergy Services, availability engineers, asset managers and solar technicians work together to identify and mitigate issues of reverse polarity as early as possible. It begins with solar technician training, where new technicians learn about the causes of reverse polarity and how to identify it.

“I work very closely with technicians in the field, and there have been multiple times since we incorporated reverse polarity into our training process where I’ve gotten calls from technicians saying, ‘Hey, I’ve noticed an issue, let’s figure out what we need to do,’” Brandel says.

Not only does preparing technicians to identify reverse polarity better equip them to resolve those issues in the field, it keeps them safer.

“Safety is all of our responsibility,” Brandel says. “Everyone at Invenergy Services considers safety first when we are troubleshooting issues at a site. The fact that we incorporated reverse polarity into our training and safety programs is indicative of our commitment to keeping technicians safe and the intense collaboration between our teams.”

Although sustained periods of reverse polarity aren’t desirable, Invenergy Services is also in the early stages of exploring how it can be used to benefit solar sites. For instance, the team is studying how to use reverse polarity to melt snow on solar panels and will continue to pursue other strategies that could leverage reverse polarity positively.

“I think our technicians are the best in the industry because of our rigorous feedback loop and our ability to learn and apply those lessons to our work,” Brandel says. “And I think they have a great support system.”

“In smaller communities, folks are wary of corporate folks coming in and promising X, Y and Z and then not delivering on those expectations,” Paul Gillham, Invenergy’s vice president of renewable operations and maintenance (O&M) – U.S., says. “That’s the experience my family is kind of familiar with.”

Growing up in a small town, Gillham had a firsthand look at how companies looking to do business in communities like his would overpromise and underdeliver to residents, and he learned an early lesson in how not to conduct business. 

Gillham’s first exposure to clean energy was in 2001 when he came home from college in search of a summer job and joined a renewable energy company as a wind technician. Shortly after Gillham entered the industry, his grandfather also contracted with an energy company as a landowner to build a wind farm on his property. However, after leasing the land, the company didn’t complete the project and returned the land to Gillham’s family. 

Although he didn’t know it yet, Gillham would have an opportunity to help finish the project his family had started with the previous company while working for Invenergy. After gaining experience as a wind technician at the company that first hired him, Gillham joined Invenergy as an O&M manager in 2005, where he helped shepherd Invenergy’s Spring Canyon Energy Center to commercial operations in early 2006. In a full-circle moment for Gillham, Spring Canyon now delivers clean energy to homes, businesses and communities on the same land his family had first leased five years earlier.

Paul Gillham helped get Invenergy's Spring Canyon Energy Center and its expansion (Wind, 122 MW, pictured above) to commercial operations in 2006 as an O&M manager at the site. The wind farm operates on land owned by Gillham's family.

Since that time, Gillham has worked his way up to lead Invenergy’s O&M teams, where he’s dedicated to cultivating O&M teams that develop meaningful relationships in the communities where they work, live and operate.

Wind and solar energy centers deliver hundreds of gigawatts of clean, reliable and affordable energy to homes, communities and businesses in the United States annually. The dependable operation of these and other clean energy facilities relies on a team of O&M professionals that are trained to keep these energy centers running smoothly, whether it’s day one or years later.

Operations and maintenance primarily focuses on the preventative and corrective maintenance tasks that keep clean energy sites operating smoothly. O&M includes safety and regulatory compliance, operational monitoring, power plant management, personnel training, and planning and budgeting. At Invenergy Services, O&M collaborates with other functions, including environmental health and safety, asset management, and operations engineering to optimize equipment reliability and longevity.

Although O&M teams across the clean energy industry may share similar areas of expertise, Invenergy Services’ O&M teams have something that sets them apart: our owner’s mindset. Operating with an owner’s mindset means Invenergy Services teams maintain every site as if it were our own, regardless of whether we own it. Gillham knows how Invenergy Services’ owner’s mindset can make a difference for the performance of an energy center and, more importantly, the communities where they’re located. This also means prioritizing hiring locally so the individuals operating our energy centers live in the communities they’re serving.

“We don't want to have a strained relationship with the folks that we're going to run into whether we're repairing a turbine on a landowner’s property or talking with community members in town,” Gillham says. “We want to be able to run into those folks and have a pleasant conversation.”

The four pillars of O&M at Invenergy Services

Invenergy Services’ O&M philosophy comprises four pillars: safety, quality, focus on production, and cost control. Safety is the most important of these principles because it enables Gillham and his team to execute on the other three pillars, he says.

“Our people are our most valuable resource and are the key to our success,” Gillham says. “If we don’t get safety right, nothing else matters.” 

Invenergy Services’ O&M teams begin each day with a safety meeting that reminds team members of safety practices, discusses any lessons learned, and emphasizes that no work is worth doing if it can’t be done safely.

In addition to prioritizing safety, Invenergy Services’ other O&M pillars deliver benefits to customers through innovation, flexibility and cost savings.

As part of Invenergy Services’ focus on quality, O&M teams prioritize preventative maintenance to help extend the longevity of a site’s equipment and the overall lifespan of a project. By focusing on preventative maintenance, Invenergy Services’ O&M offering also provides greater flexibility and cost savings for customers compared to a traditional full-service agreement with original equipment manufacturers. Sites working under full-service agreements tend to focus on corrective maintenance, only repairing components once something has broken, which can lead to gaps in availability, reduction of a site’s output, and costly repairs. 

Thirdly, to help identify and execute preventative maintenance needs and to maintain our focus on production, Invenergy Services uses a robust suite of data analytics to help sites maintain high availability and output.

“To say data analytics plays a big role in our operational effectiveness is an understatement,” Gillham says. “Being able to understand equipment trends and identify potential early deterioration through data allows us to be proactive in our decision-making, and it often reduces eventual repair costs as well as equipment downtime.”

The combination of safety, quality control, and a focus on production results in cost savings for customers. Proactive, efficient and safe O&M practices ultimately lead to the delivery of clean, reliable and affordable energy to the homes and communities that need it most.

“Integrity is at the core of what Invenergy does,” Gillham says. “We do what we say we’re going to do, and we understand that we’re going to be a part of the communities where we’re developing projects. We want to make people feel like valuable members of our projects, for them to know that they’re important to us.”

How Paul Gillham’s personal experiences with clean energy help him lead Invenergy Services’ approach to operations and maintenance

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A life and career touched by clean energy

The U.S. electric grid needs to be transformed. Our current transmission infrastructure is out of date and unable to keep up with increasing energy demand, which is rising for the first time in nearly two decades.

Clean energy and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are the solution. Increasing grid capacity with more HVDC transmission and adding gigawatts of energy from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources will create a more reliable, flexible and resilient grid. This transformation is critical for the grid to withstand disruptions from extreme weather events, which are occuring more frequently and with greater intensity than ever before, and to deliver clean, reliable and affordable power to the homes, businesses and communities that need it most.

Learn more about how revitalizing the electric grid can accelerate cleaner, more reliable, affordable energy in the video below.

"A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals," March 14, 2024, The New York Times

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Let's talk about energy

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved changes to the way major regions of the U.S. electric grid plan transmission lines. These new rules are an important first step toward a more modern, reliable grid, greater access to affordable and sustainable energy for consumers, and economic development for communities all over the country.

Strong leadership by FERC Chairman Willie Phillips and others at FERC was instrumental in the ultimate approval of the rule changes.

FERC's new rules in Order 1920 will accelerate and streamline the expansion of the U.S. power grid and facilitate more opportunities to connect new energy generation projects like those in Invenergy’s growing wind, solar, storage and gas peaker portfolio to the grid. 

Among other measures, the rules help accomplish this by requiring grid operators to plan for transmission needs 20 years into the future, engage in long-term planning at regular intervals, and to be responsive to the nation’s expected load growth and energy goals set by states, utilities, and large corporate energy users. The rules also require grid operators to consider the potential impacts of extreme weather conditions on the grid. These changes will begin the process of adding greater transparency and fairness to the transmission planning process.

Additionally, the rule could support future competitive, greenfield rate-based transmission opportunities for the industry. FERC rightly declined to implement a federal right of first refusal in this order for competitive transmission projects, ensuring consumers continue to benefit from competition in transmission development, which supports greater cost efficiency and effective project delivery.

FERC’s reforms will deliver needed changes to support transmission expansion within regional footprints of major parts of the U.S. grid. But they don’t address expanding transmission between regions. Interregional transmission is a critically needed solution for ensuring energy access and availability as manufacturing and AI drive spikes in electric demand and increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events threaten reliability.

Congress, regulators and grid operators should work together to address these significant grid policy gaps and build on the momentum of FERC’s recent ruling. FERC itself must also continue the unfinished work on its transmission agenda and address barriers to interregional and merchant transmission.

As planning processes evolve to meet these new standards, Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) and Independent System Operators (ISO) should also work to maximize existing transmission and ensure their updated regional planning processes properly account for and leverage independently developed merchant lines in their regions, particularly those designated as national priority lines. Optimizing existing connections between regions (making the best use of the infrastructure we already have) will reduce costs for consumers and make the system more efficient. And leveraging lines funded and built by private industry means ratepayers only pay for transmission in the places it is needed most.

 transmission line has been approved by four Midwestern states, is a covered project on the Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard, addresses needs identified in the Department of Energy’s National Transmission Needs Study, and is sited in a preliminarily designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. The project will provide much needed, geographically diverse energy and capacity in a portion of the Midwest grid that is woefully short. Yet, the Midwestern grid operator MISO has proceeded with two consecutive rounds of transmission planning to address the same issue on its system – planning that fails to appropriately factor in this nationally significant project. The result is over $2 billion dollars in duplicative transmission investment for MISO ratepayers, costs that the private sector is already bearing.

Failure by RTOs to act on these policy gaps are resulting in higher costs for ratepayers and a less efficient system, as well as foregone economic development opportunities for communities of all types.

Congress also has a role to play by passing legislation to give FERC authority and direction to implement some of the most important changes needed. For example, legislation could require that FERC implement minimum transfer capability and interregional planning requirements. Previous legislation like the BIG WIRES Act have served as a road map for these kinds of legislative directives, which would have a real impact on industry’s ability to get these lines built, lower costs, and improve reliability. Congress could also pass legislation that requires FERC to implement optimization standards for lines between regions to ensure lines that exist or will exist in the near future are used in the most efficient manner.

Still, if Congress fails to act, FERC has the authority to further reform regional planning by requiring privately funded lines be accounted for, and by imposing minimum transfer requirements, interregional planning requirements, or optimization standards on its own, and the agency should consider doing so in future orders.

Finally, it’s imperative that Congress approve the three remaining FERC nominees so that the agency isn’t left without a quorum or effective authority following the departure of Commissioner Allison Clements on June 30. The full bench of commissioners is critical to maintaining a resilient and reliable grid and robust energy supply. Successful confirmation votes on the FERC nominees present another opportunity for Senate Majority Leader Schumer to build on past significant energy infrastructure successes such as passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bipartisan bill that can make energy more affordable and reliable for all Americans. 

FERC’s recent rulemaking is a promising step toward achieving a reliable and resilient energy future. It would be a mistake for policymakers to slow down progress now while there’s an opportunity to transform the U.S. energy sector for the better and open doors for major economic investments all across America.

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New FERC rules a first step toward a more modern grid

The fastest-growing profession in the United States isn’t what you might expect. You won’t find IT specialist, software developer, or doctor occupying the top spot. The number one job: wind turbine service technician.

From 2022 to 2032, the demand for wind technician jobs is expected to surge by nearly 45%, more than nurse practitioners, data scientists, statisticians, and other fast-growing careers.

But here’s the issue: between 2022 and 2023, the share of job postings requiring at least one “green skill,” or the expertise necessary to perform the job responsibilities required in sustainable professions, was nearly double the share of “green talent” entering the workforce.

 So, it’s clear that the increased demand to fill clean energy jobs isn’t years away; it’s here, and we need to increase hiring to meet it.

Around the world, clean energy jobs will power the economies of the future. In 2023, the clean energy industry generated 10% of overall global GDP growth, the equivalent of an adding an economy the size of the Czech Republic to global economic output.

 Legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is further catalyzing growth in the United States. Experts expect the IRA to create 9 million jobs over the next decade.

 However, for the clean energy industry to take advantage of the IRA’s promise, there must be a greater focus on workforce development. 

Unlocking the potential of the clean energy industry 

Invenergy understands the need to address the gap between new clean energy jobs and the qualified workers needed to fill them. In 2024, we announced a three-part 

 To build the energy workforce of the future, Invenergy has committed to: 

Invenergy’s workforce development goal will complement our existing efforts with the company’s Impact and diversity, equity and inclusion partners. Invenergy Impact partners include organizations like KidWind, Chicago Scholars Foundation and GRID Alternatives, which all help to create the energy workforce of the future. 

Preparing the next generation of clean energy talent 

As part of our Invenergy Impact, we aim to teach, inspire, train and attract the next generation of clean energy talent to ensure the next generation of workers represents a variety of backgrounds, skills and ideas. Every year, Invenergy puts that aspiration into action through work with our Impact partners.

In 2023, Invenergy continued its work with KidWind, an organization that works to facilitate the exploration of a world powered by clean energy for K-12 students and teachers. Invenergy hosted three in-person and virtual workshops for teachers and provided materials for them to bring back to their classrooms. We also sponsored two educators to attend KidWind’s Recharge Academy, which focused on the future of our power grid and 

. More recently, Invenergy sponsored a national KidWind Challenge at the 2024 American Clean Power conference in Minneapolis.

Invenergy also supports the Chicago Scholars Foundation, which provides first-generation college students and students from under-resourced communities with access to mentorship and coaching. For the second year, Invenergy sponsored scholarships for two Chicago Scholars Foundation participants headed to college to pursue careers in renewable energy.

And in partnership with GRID Alternatives, which is focused on building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive solar industry, Invenergy sponsored one of the organization’s five-week, all-women’s rooftop solar Installation Basics Training cohort with 11 trainees in Sacramento, California.

A comprehensive approach to clean energy jobs training will be essential to the future of industry, and Invenergy is proud to help lead those efforts. Through a combination of public and private training programs, we can meet the demand for clean energy talent while, at the same time, reaching out to under-represented communities to create a broader and more diverse workforce. Together, we can make an impact to build a more sustainable world.

Learn more about our Invenergy Impact in our 

 “Fastest growing occupations,” April 17, 2024, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

“Global Green Skills Report 2023,” Feb. 29, 2024, LinkedIn 

 “Clean energy is boosting economic growth,” April 18, 2024, International Energy Agency 

 “Jobs from climate action: The Inflation Reduction Act's impact on job creation,” Feb. 29, 2024, Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst 

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Workforce development is critical to the clean energy future

Hot and bothersome or exhilarating and wild: winds blow through the mind as strongly as they blow through the landscape. 

What if those same winds, harnessed as energy, contributed to a lasting sense of resilience and well-being? "Red River Valley Harvest" follows four renewable energy pioneers on their journey to bring power and peace of mind to their communities.

Sailboats are meticulously designed to harness the energy of the wind. This intricate dance between wind and sailboat is what makes wind sailing a captivating and challenging endeavor. Unlock the secrets behind how sailboats capture and utilize the power of the wind. Understanding sailboat wind dynamics is the key to becoming a skilled wind sailor. Sailing faster than the wind may seem counterintuitive, but it's a reality for experienced sailors. Explore the physics that make this feat possible. Sailing faster than the wind may seem counterintuitive, but it's a reality for experienced sailors. Explore the physics that make this feat possible. Sailing faster than the wind may seem counterintuitive, but it's a reality for experienced sailors. Explore the physics that make this feat possible.

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Winds of Change

Offshore wind development in the United States is at an inflection point. While there are already established markets for offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia, development of U.S. projects is still in its early stages.

Like any emerging industry, it has taken time for the business, policy and regulatory conditions to align for offshore wind. Now, 

, Invenergy’s senior vice president of offshore wind development, sees opportunity for the U.S. offshore wind market to flourish.

Runyan first honed his clean energy experience developing onshore wind projects in North America, where he was involved in many project development activities including siting and permitting, project design and engineering, environmental studies, regulatory processes, transmission and interconnection, public affairs and more. 

After more than 15 years in the power industry, including eight years in the North American wind industry, Runyan moved overseas for five years to focus on offshore wind development in Japan, where he helped develop one of the country’s largest offshore wind facilities. Following his time in Japan, he also led development of offshore wind projects from The Netherlands.

Now back Stateside, Runyan is responsible for leading the responsible development, engineering and construction of Invenergy’s 

Runyan discusses the state of offshore wind development in the United States, Invenergy’s approach to responsible offshore wind development, and the important role offshore wind can play in the broader clean energy transition.

How would you characterize the state of offshore wind development in the U.S. today? 

 The past couple of years have not been without challenges for offshore wind in the U.S. It’s a relatively new industry in America, so developers, states, and utilities have gone through learning curves to better manage supply chains and inflation headwinds. This includes structuring power purchase agreements (PPA) to accommodate the longer development timelines offshore wind projects require. I would say those headwinds are starting to soften. Invenergy struck its PPA for Leading Light Wind at a good time. We were able to factor in some lessons learned from earlier development efforts, and we are confident in our ability to responsibly deliver this project for the state of New Jersey, and I expect the same for Even Keel Wind and our work in California.

Does the U.S. face unique challenges compared to other offshore wind markets? 

 Europe is definitely further along in its offshore wind journey. They entered this market about 10 years ago, and they have built up a supply chain that can support the industry. Right now, U.S. companies are building out the infrastructure, like offshore installation vessels, to support the industry here. And knowledge in the industry is growing globally, so we can learn from that. I’ve built projects in Japan that also had to go through this supply chain and development learning curve.

What opportunities do you see for U.S. offshore wind?

 Offshore wind has the potential to be a leading energy generation source in the U.S. Offshore wind resources are abundant, and these projects will deliver energy to populations on the East and West Coasts, where it can be more difficult to build other energy generations sources because of denser population centers and more complicated permitting processes. Being able to build far off the coasts but still deliver gigawatts of power to urban areas with increasing energy demands is a great opportunity. 

How would you describe Invenergy’s approach to offshore wind development? 

 We want to build relationships with the communities where we’re developing projects. We’re going to be in those communities for decades. We make sure to hire locally and that the communities we’re involved in will benefit from these projects. Our projects will create thousands of jobs and generate billions in economic benefits throughout their development, construction and operations. 

Invenergy is unique because we are currently the only American-led company developing a multi-project portfolio across U.S. coasts with our Leading Light Wind and Even Keel Wind projects. Our decades of experience developing onshore wind projects has given us the knowledge to permit projects efficiently, work with labor and contractors, build according to U.S. policies and regulations, and we are translating this expertise to our offshore projects.

Offshore wind turbines can have either fixed or floating foundations. Could you discuss the difference between fixed and floating turbines and when each is used? 

Red River Valley Harvest: The Story Behind Samson Solar, the Largest Solar Energy Center in Texas

Red River Valley Harvest: The Story Behind Samson Solar, the Largest Solar Energy Center in Texas

136 results

Demand for Power is Increasing. The Inflation Reduction Act Laid the Groundwork to Meet It.

Washington View: Introduction of permitting reform bill represents a step in the right direction

Solar operations and maintenance: A proactive approach to diode failure and reverse polarity

A life and career touched by clean energy

Let's talk about energy

New FERC rules a first step toward a more modern grid

Workforce development is critical to the clean energy future

Winds of Change

U.S. offshore wind development welcomes gusts of opportunity

Celebrating Earth Month with the environmental compliance and strategy team

What you should know about energy storage safety

Sidebar Test Four

Sidebar Test Three

Sidebar Test Two

Sidebar Test One

A look at Invenergy in Japan: Ten years of operations and an expanding leadership team

Test Power Lines Post

Red River Valley Harvest: The Story Behind Samson Solar, the Largest Solar Energy Center in Texas

Demand for Power is Increasing. The Inflation Reduction Act Laid the Groundwork to Meet It.

Washington View: Introduction of permitting reform bill represents a step in the right direction

Solar operations and maintenance: A proactive approach to diode failure and reverse polarity

A life and career touched by clean energy

Let's talk about energy

New FERC rules a first step toward a more modern grid

Workforce development is critical to the clean energy future

Winds of Change

U.S. offshore wind development welcomes gusts of opportunity

Celebrating Earth Month with the environmental compliance and strategy team

What you should know about energy storage safety

Sidebar Test Four

Sidebar Test Three

Sidebar Test Two

Sidebar Test One

A look at Invenergy in Japan: Ten years of operations and an expanding leadership team

Test Power Lines Post