Biden-Harris Administration Releases Roadmap to Accelerate Offshore Wind Transmission and Improve Grid Resilience and Reliability
As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, today the Departments of the Interior and Energy released An Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. Atlantic Region, a set of bold actions that will catalyze offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union jobs. The announcement comes during Climate Week 2023, in which more than a dozen Biden-Harris administration officials — including Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland — are in New York City participating in a broad range of events to highlight the Administration’s historic climate agenda. The comprehensive Action Plan developed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Energy Department’s Grid Deployment Office outlines immediate actions needed to connect the first generation of Atlantic offshore wind projects onto the electric grid, and longer-term efforts to support needed transmission over the next several decades. Coordinated planning can help speed up timelines and lower project costs, while strengthening grid reliability and resilience. The Energy Department also announced the launch of the Tribal Nation Technical Assistance Program for Offshore Wind Transmission offering education and training resources to support engagement in offshore wind planning and created in direct response to Tribal input. Together, these activities will advance equitable and sustainable offshore wind energy development, domestic manufacturing, and grid integration, as part of broader efforts across the Biden-Harris administration to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in the United States by 2030, unlocking a pathway to 110 GW or more by 2050. “President Biden has set an ambitious goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 – and I am more confident than ever that we will meet it. Together with industry, labor and other partners from coast to coast, we are building an entirely new industry to bolster our supply chains and strengthen our offshore wind development,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “The Interior Department is committed to the Biden-Harris administration’s all-of-government approach to delivering clean, reliable renewable energy to help respond to the climate crisis, lower energy costs, and create good-paying union jobs across the manufacturing, shipbuilding and construction sectors.” “The Biden-Harris administration is committed to using all the tools in the toolbox to advance offshore wind as a critical renewable energy source to transition the nation to a clean energy future, “said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The efforts announced today will boost our nation’s ability to deploy wind energy in an equitable way to lower energy costs, create good-paying jobs, and achieve President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean electric grid by 2035.” President Biden’s economic agenda—Bidenomics— is fueling America’s clean energy future, creating American-made products in American factories with American workers, and attracting more than $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments, including in the offshore wind industry. Since the President took office, companies have announced 19 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain, representing thousands of new jobs. BOEM and federal partners are engaged in a thoughtful, all-of-government approach to collaborating on issues like ocean co-use and efficient permitting to build a robust offshore wind industry that benefits communities and co-exists with other ocean users with minimal impacts. The Biden-Harris administration has approved four commercial-scale, offshore wind energy projects and remains on track to complete reviews of at least 16 offshore wind project plans by 2025, representing more than 27 gigawatts of clean energy. Partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, An Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. Atlantic Region details how wind resources could efficiently be captured off the Atlantic Coast of the United States and delivered to communities as clean, reliable power. It outlines immediate actions needed to connect the first generation of Atlantic offshore wind projects to the electric grid, as well as longer-term efforts to increase transmission over the next several decades. Over the mid- to long-term, increased intra-regional coordination, shared transmission lines, and an offshore network of high-voltage direct-current interlinks can more efficiently bring this energy onshore. The plan’s recommendations for federal, state and local governments, industry, and stakeholders include: The Energy Department and multiple Atlantic states have begun work on the first of these recommendations, which is the formation of an Offshore Wind Transmission State Collaborative to develop a shared vision on policy and approach to coordination for offshore transmission development. The Action Plan was informed by the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study, which will soon be released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, as well as a series of convening workshops with subject matter experts and decision makers, including Tribal nations, state governments, and regional transmission operators held from April 2022 to March 2023. Partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Tribal Nation Technical Assistance Program for Offshore Wind Transmission supports the engagement of federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Villages in activities related to the planning and development of U.S. offshore wind transmission. This technical assistance program was developed in direct response to Tribal input and offers capacity building through educational resources, training and expert matching with technical experts and researchers at DOE’s national labs. To support Tribal representation at key offshore wind transmission forums, the program will also provide funding to mitigate the financial burden of participation. ###
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.
Related Knowledge Center: Electrical grid reliability
With the need to reduce use of fossil fuels in transportation and other areas, demand is likely to increase for solutions that increase dependence on electricity and the electrical grid.