The United States has long hovered on the cusp of an offshore wind energy boom, even as the industry has soared worldwide. After many fits and starts, only seven turbines are spinning off the US coast, representing 0.1 per cent of the total global capacity of offshore wind farms.
Now that’s all starting to change.
With companies hitting major milestones this year — and with more developments on deck in 2023 — momentum is building in the fledgling US offshore wind industry.
Commercial-scale wind farms are advancing in the Atlantic Ocean, the first of which are slated to start operating next year. Large tracts in the Pacific Ocean are now open for offshore wind development, following a first-ever federal auction held earlier this month. Community groups in New York City and beyond are making progress to ensure that residents most affected by fossil-fuel pollution are the first to fill the coming clean-energy jobs.
“Even in this challenging economic environment, projects are largely staying on track,” said executive director of Turn Forward, an independent offshore wind advocacy group, Stephanie McClellan.
McClellan, who has worked on offshore wind initiatives since 2010, said the organization launched late last month to help guide the industry as it moves into this new phase of large-scale development. The goal is to build many gigawatts’ worth of offshore wind capacity in ways that not only tackle climate change but also address the country’s economic and equity challenges, all while protecting marine and coastal resources.
“Rolling into 2023, this is a moment to start to envision what offshore wind’s future is going to look like in this country,” she told Canary Media.
America is poised to meet the Biden administration’s goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind farms by 2030, or enough to power more than 10 million homes for a year. Eleven states already have more than that amount in their combined project pipeline. For densely populated coastal regions, the ocean represents one of the few available areas for installing large amounts of renewable energy capacity.
At present, however, only 42 megawatts (0.042 gigawatts) of offshore wind power is actually installed off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia.
In order to make all of the planned projects a reality, many things will need to go right, and swiftly, at every step of the way — from securing permits, procuring giant turbines and building specialized ships to laying large subsea cables, developing floating turbine technologies and securing support from communities, conservationists and commercial fishing groups.
If the industry can pull it off, the country could see a huge infusion of clean power, much of which will be delivered directly to energy-hungry coastal cities. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that the United States has enough offshore wind resources to potentially meet the nation’s entire electricity needs two times over.
On tap next year: Two commercial-scale wind farms compete for first place
In 2022, construction began on the nation’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind farms: the 132-megawatt South Fork Wind project in New York and the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts.
The developers of South Fork Wind — Danish energy giant Ørsted and Boston-based energy provider Eversource — have been working since February on the project’s onshore components, which include a new electrical substation on the east end of Long Island. Last month, a self-elevating vessel called a “liftboat” sailed up from the Gulf of Mexico to an area off East Hampton’s shore as part of preparations for offshore work.
The liftboat will serve as a floating workspace throughout the winter as technicians build the “tie-in” that connects onshore electrical infrastructure to the submarine cables carrying power from the wind farm, said the New York market affairs manager for Ørsted, Jennifer Garvey.
“Its arrival is just another indicator of how much progress we’re making,” she said of the vessel.
Next summer, developers will begin installing steel monopile foundations and a dozen 11-megawatt offshore turbines. The wind farm, which will stand about 35 miles east of Long Island’s easternmost tip, is expected to start producing power at the end of next year, Ørsted said.
