Charlie Papavizas Discusses Impact of Jones Act on Offshore Wind Industry

Winston & Strawn partner Charlie Papavizas was quoted in the South Coast Today article, “Offshore Wind Developers Outsmart Century-Old Federal Law,” published December 29, 2013.

The Jones Act, which requires vessels transporting cargo or equipment between two U.S. points to be American flagged and manufactured, poses a challenge for the offshore wind industry.

Mr. Papavizas noted that the word “points” rather than “ports” could have made its way into the law due to concerns that otherwise people could "pick up cargo somewhere that wasn't technically a port and get around the law."

"Basically, anything attached to the seabed, either permanently or temporarily, is a point," Mr. Papavizas said. "As soon as someone drives a pile into the seabed, it counts as a new one."

That poses a problem for the American offshore wind industry, because you have to drive a pile before putting the turbine on top of it. Currently, the only vessels capable of transporting offshore wind turbines are manufactured in Europe as American manufacturers are hesitant to construct specialty vessels for an industry that does not yet exist in the U.S.