Full Title: Offshore Wind - Can the United States Catch up with Europe?
Author(s): Laura Small, Samuel Beirne, and Ori Gutin
Publisher(s): Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)
Publication Date: January 1, 2016
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Wind energy power generation is on the rise around the world, due to its low fixed prices and lack of greenhouse gas emissions. A cumulative total of 369,553 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity was installed globally by the end of 2014. Of that total, only two percent came from offshore wind farms, which are able to capture stronger and more reliable ocean winds to generate electricity.
Most offshore wind capacity is in Europe, where there are 3,072 grid-connected offshore wind turbines at 82 farms spanning 11 countries, for a total of 10,393.6 MW of wind energy capacity as of June 30, 2015. China, the leader in offshore wind in Asia, had 718.9 MW of installed capacity; Japan, 52 MW; and South Korea, 5 MW by October 2015.
In comparison, the United States is just beginning to invest in offshore wind energy, and is rapidly approaching the operational launch of its first commercial offshore wind farm. There is incredible potential for offshore wind development in the United States – the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.