2013 Offshore Wind Market and Economic Analysis

 

The U.S. offshore wind industry is transitioning from early development to demonstration of commercial viability. While there are no commercial-scale projects in operation or in the construction phase, there are eleven U.S. projects in advanced development, defined as having either been awarded a lease, conducted baseline for geophysical studies, or obtained a power purchase agreement (PPA). There are panels or task forces in place in at least 13 states to engage stakeholders to identify constraints and sites for offshore wind. U.S. policy makers are beginning to follow the examples in Europe that have proven successful in stimulating offshore wind technological …

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Creating the Clean Energy Economy: Analysis of the Offshore Wind Industry

Offshore wind power offers an inexhaustible energy source and, in the U.S., is located close to major population centers where demand for energy is highest. To date, this market has been insufficiently tapped. The U.S. has yet to produce a single megawatt (MW) of energy from an offshore wind source. The success of the domestic onshore wind industry foreshadows some of the potential of offshore wind.

This chapter hopes to spur action that will unlock this potential. The first section discusses the benefits of offshore wind energy in detail as well as hurdles to market development. The final section proposes …

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The economics of visual disamenity reductions of offshore wind farms – review and suggestions from an emerging field

The offshore wind power generation market is currently experiencing growth rates on a global scale and investments exceeding several billion euro are being made. From a welfare economic point of view there is a non-trivial economic trade-off between offshore generation costs and the visual impacts from offshore wind farms. Offshore wind farms close to the shore generate cheaper electricity, but also cause higher levels of visual impacts compared to locations at larger distances. In the present paper we carry out a review of the stated preference studies that have elicited the demand for visual disamenity reduction from offshore wind farms.… View Full Resource

Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States: Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers

Offshore wind power is poised to deliver an essential contribution to a clean, robust, and diversified U.S. energy portfolio. Capturing and using this large and inexhaustible resource has the potential to mitigate climate change, improve the environment, increase energy security, and stimulate the U.S. economy. The United States is now deliberating an energy policy that will have a powerful impact on the nation’s energy and economic health for decades to come. This report provides a broad understanding of today’s wind industry and the offshore resource, as well as the associated technology challenges, economics, permitting procedures, and potential risks and benefits. …

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An Operations and Maintenance Roadmap for U.S. Offshore Wind

The United States is currently experiencing rapid growth in the offshore wind energy market, with a pipeline of over 52 gigawatts (GW) (Musial et al. 2023), coupled with state targets of 112 GW. Even considering future wind turbine sizes, this amount represents thousands of new wind turbines installed in a diverse set of environments, each with unique challenges in design, installation, and maintenance. While much can be learned from European and Asian experience with offshore wind energy over the past two decades, it is important to understand the circumstances of the United States. This report explores operations and maintenance (O&M) …

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Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Offshore Wind

The U.S. offshore wind (OSW) market is at an inflection point. Offshore wind can deliver tens of gigawatts (GWs) of clean power to East Coast load within this decade, with approximately 250 MW operational, 5 GW under construction, and over 10 GW total approved for construction as of April 2024. In the next few years, an additional 5-10 GW of projects have a path to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) and begin construction. These early mover investments in enabling infrastructure, continued procurement commitments, and experience deploying projects over the next few years will demonstrate and foster the long-term deployment of …

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Stakeholder Engagement in California Offshore Wind

This document provides a high-level summary of key themes identified in the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment’s (CLEE) 2022 convening series on offshore wind development in California.

These themes reflect the perspectives of those who will drive—and be most impacted by—offshore wind as the state embarks on the initial implementation phases of this new industry following the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease auction on December 6-7, 2022. This document represents CLEE’s impressions from conversations held in 2022, not official positions from any industry representatives, stakeholder groups, or federal, local, state, or tribal governments involved.…

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Offshore Wind: A Crucial Resource To Decarbonize The Western United States

The United States’ West Coast has vast, untapped offshore wind resources to help decarbonize the country’s energy system. Unfortunately, the U.S. lacks ambition on offshore wind – particularly across California, Oregon, and Washington – which have no established offshore wind deployment requirements. This research brief explains federal policies that could cost-effectively support offshore wind as a core power sector emissions reduction strategy, including tax credits, port development, transmission investments, and timely siting.…

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Three Things to Watch in Development of U.S. Offshore Wind

Offshore wind developers have poured billions of dollars into securing leases in state and federal waters in recent months, with many more billions to be spent developing wind assets to support ambitious state and federal goals for the energy transition. With this influx of new infrastructure spending and offshore lease sales, the offshore wind industry is continuing to build momentum as a source of renewable power in the United States. Here are three things to watch over the next year.…

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Windy Waters: Unlocking the Potential of U.S. Offshore Wind

This issue brief provides some basic context for a bold national effort to develop America’s considerable offshore wind resources, including information about the unique characteristics of offshore wind, its potential contribution to achieving the net-zero goal, and related economic benefits. The brief identifies key challenges and barriers to offshore wind development, with particular attention to siting and permitting hurdles, and concludes with a set of policy recommendations. BPC is aware that other groups, such as the Energy Labor Partnership and Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, as well as business organizations, including the American Clean Power Association and the Business …

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