The U.S. Opportunity in Floating Offshore Wind

Offshore wind projects are now under development along much of America’s East Coast, ranging from Maine to the Carolinas. The U.S. offshore wind industry has already seen investments exceeding $3.5 billion and the Network has tracked more than 500 supply chain contracts.

These realities highlight opportunities for state and federal policymakers to continue the Biden Administration’s tremendous early progress on offshore wind by thinking now about the future implications and necessities of deploying floating offshore wind turbines. The U.S. offshore wind industry’s ongoing momentum can be maximized by establishing mechanisms to achieve the integrated, intergovernmental coordination, planning, and strategic decision-making …

Wind Energy: Offshore Permitting

Technological advancements, tax incentives, and concerns about climate change have driven a global expansion in the development of renewable energy resources. Wind energy is a fast-growing source of new electric power generation, and U.S. wind energy production capacity has been increasing consistently over the past several years. Currently, in contrast to Europe, all but one commercial wind power facility in the United States is based on land. However, multiple offshore wind and related infrastructure projects have been proposed in recent years to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The focus of this report is the current law applicable to …

Expert Dialogue: Realizing the Promise of Offshore Wind

OurEnergyPolicy (OEP) hosted two discussions on policies around the emerging offshore wind market—first, an online discussion led by Laura Morton of the American Wind Energy Association with comments from energy professionals from across the country, and second, a live panel discussion in New York City as part of OEP’s Energy Leaders Luncheon Series. This summary features select excerpts and comments from both discussions.…

Renewable Energy Benefits: Leveraging local capacity for offshore wind

Offshore wind projects create ample opportunities for local value creation. Income and jobs can be maximised by leveraging existing economic activities and building upon domestic supply chains. Education and training, however, must be attuned to emerging needs in the offshore wind industry.

The development of a typical 500-megawatt offshore wind farm requires around 2.1 million person-days of work. Manufacturing takes up 59% of the labour requirements of such a project, followed by operation and maintenance (24%) and installation and grid connection (11%). Factory workers account for more than half of the labour needed in manufacturing.

Offshore wind development benefits from …

Wind Power to Spare: The Enormous Energy Potential of Atlantic Offshore Wind

The Atlantic coast states are dependent on fossil fuels, which pollute our air, put our health at risk, and contribute to global warming. In response, states in the region are moving toward an energy system powered by clean, renewable sources:

Atlantic states now generate enough wind and solar energy to power nearly 2 million homes, 19 times
more than just a decade ago. Yet to achieve a truly clean energy system, Atlantic states – which account for more than a quarter of the nation’s energy use – will need to tap into a massive clean energy resource that is right …

Offshore Wind: Delivering More For Less

Successive governments have established the UK as the world leader in offshore wind. Levels of deployment in the last few years have set the industry on a path of steep cost reduction and provided a platform for an industry that will be sustainable without special consumer support.

The analysis set out in this document demonstrates that real, tangible advances in technology, the supply chain, and policy have combined to drive down the cost of energy for projects about to go into construction in 2015. This downward pressure is expected to continue, with offshore wind projects going into construction in 5 …

Offshore Energy by the Numbers: An Economic Analysis of Offshore Drilling and Wind Energy in the Atlanitc

The oil industry has been pushing to expand offshore drilling to the Atlantic Ocean. The industry claims that opening the Atlantic to drilling will lead the United States towards energy independence, generate millions of dollars in revenue for states, and create thousands of jobs in the process. However, many of the arguments made about the benefits of offshore drilling do not stand up to scrutiny, and the benefits of offshore wind prove to be greater and available over a longer period of time.…

Key Growth Trends in Offshore Wind: Construction Focus 2014

Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition

Wind power additions in the United States totaled 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in 2023. Wind power growth has historically been supported by the industry’s primary federal incentive—the production tax credit (PTC)—as well as numerous state-level policies. Long-term improvements in the cost and performance of wind power technologies have also been key drivers for wind additions, yielding low-priced wind energy for utility, corporate, and other power purchasers. Nonetheless, 2023 was a slow year in terms of new wind deployment, the lowest since 2014. Elevated interest rates played a role in slowing deployment, as did interconnection and siting challenges.

Passage of …

Wind Energy: Technologies and Approaches to Help Address Environmental Effects

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources globally. Onshore and offshore wind energy provide an abundant source of electricity with significant environmental benefits, including lower atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions during electricity generation. However, the increases in the development of wind energy facilities increases the potential environmental effects of these facilities, including greater use of natural resources like critical materials and steel, decommissioning and recycling difficulties, and ecological effects such as wildlife harm.

This report discusses (1) technologies or approaches to help reduce the potential environmental effects related to the life cycle of utility-scale wind energy projects, …