Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study

Offshore wind energy continues to grow in the U.S. Atlantic. In 2023, there were 41 gigawatts (GW) in East Coast project pipelines (Musial et al. 2023), driven partly by state-level policies that incentivize offshore wind development. The Biden-Harris administration has set a national goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 (The White House 2021), which would unlock a pathway to 110 GW or more by 2050. Ensuring adequate, equitable, affordable, and timely transmission access for offshore wind energy is critical to achieving state- and national-level goals.
The Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study (AOSWTS) is part of …

U.S. Offshore Wind Scrambles to Re-establish Growth in 2024

After a promising start, global macroeconomic challenges have blown President Joe Biden’s offshore wind ambitions off course. Project stakeholders are looking to bounce back from disruptive cost increases and delays and re-establish investor confidence in the nacent offshore wind sector.…

The 50 Offshore Wind Companies to Watch in 2024

To showcase market disruptors, Reuters Events announces the Top 50 Offshore Wind Companies to Watch in 2024 Report. In this report, they discuss the work of 50 disruptors and change-making companies paving the way to unlock the future potential for offshore wind. …

Navigating the Uncertain Outlook Facing Offshore Wind in the U.S.

The United States offshore wind industry looked set for increased momentum in 2023 as President Biden’s administration pushed for 30 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by 2030. Yet permitting delays and inflation have stymied the industry’s short term outlook, with developers seeking new power purchase (PPA) terms on at least 10 East Coast projects by mid-September.

By October, the crisis had forced Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut to join forces for offshore wind procurement, aiming to reduce construction costs in the face of PPA cancellations from developers Avangrid, Shell, and Ocean Winds.

Despite these setbacks, U.S. offshore wind remains a $70 …

Northern California and Southern Oregon Offshore Wind Transmission Study

Offshore wind (OSW) power based on floating technology in the coastal waters of the U.S. Pacific Ocean has great potential to contribute to climate mitigation and renewable energy goals in California, Oregon, and other parts of the western U.S. To achieve development of OSW at scale, investments in transmission infrastructure are needed to deliver this power to major metropolitan areas because these are the primary electricity load centers. Currently the transmission infrastructure serving coastal regions where OSW is most likely to be developed has limited capacity and is designed to bring power from the east to serve modest coastal loads. …

Oregon’s Blue Frontier: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Offshore Wind Projects

Oregon’s current generation power mix includes hydroelectric power, natural gas, onshore wind, coal, and other small generation sources. Although the state meets its current Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance criteria, the prospect of offshore wind in Oregon and floating wind is rapidly evolving—both technically and commercially—to provide a carbon-free alternative energy source.

For companies seeking to success in Oregon’s upcoming offshore wind auction, DNV tapped into their global and local expertise to identify permitting and technical opportunities and challenges. Their insights come from 125 years of helping clients safely and economically develop offshore energy projects and, recently, their involvement in …

Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology

The transition to renewable energy has spurred many efforts to scale up the U.S. portfolio of efficient clean energy resources, including the development of offshore wind farms. The Nantucket Shoals region off the coast of Massachusetts is the first large scale wind farm installation under development in U.S. waters. To ensure Nantucket Shoals region offshore wind energy installations are being planned, constructed, and developed in an environmentally responsible way, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) asked the National Academies to evaluate the potential for offshore wind farms in the Nantucket Shoals region to affect oceanic physical processes, and, in …

The Impacts of Developing a Port Network for Floating Offshore Wind Energy on the West Coast of the United States

“Developing a system of ports that can enable commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development on the West Coast of the United States will require significant investment and coordination between governments, industry, port authorities, and local communities. A critical first step to strategically planning these resources is understanding the number of ports (and associated investment) that would be required to support different phases of offshore wind energy project development, including manufacturing, installation, and operation. But simply tallying up these costs is not sufficient to understand how a robust network of ports could impact local communities, the environment, workforce development, the offshore …

Building a National Network of Offshore Wind Ports

The Network’s report, Building a National Network of Offshore Wind Ports: A $36B Plan for Domestic Clean Energy Infrastructure highlights the urgent need for both public and private investment in the port infrastructure projects needed to meet the U.S.’s offshore wind power generation goals. Authored by Brian Sabina, CEO of Clean Energy Terminals and the Network’s Ports Working Group, the report lays out a $36 billion plan for developing domestic port infrastructure to help the U.S. reach its offshore wind deployment goals of 30 GW by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. It offers practical cost and timing requirements for …

Building a Collaborative Data Strategy for the U.S. Offshore Wind Industry

The Business Network for Offshore Wind’s report, Building a Collaborative Data Strategy for the U.S. Offshore Wind Industry highlights the need for and benefits of developing a strategic, industry-wide approach to collecting and using data in the offshore wind sector. Authored by the Network’s Data & Digitalization Working Group (DDWG), the report outlines the positive impact a collaborative approach would have on offshore wind development in the U.S., making the case for widespread data sharing to increase efficiency industry-wide.

The U.S. industry has ramped up construction, recently celebrating steel in the water on the first two commercial-scale projects, and now …