Louisiana offshore wind supply chain database highlights industry's readiness - Greater Baton Rouge Business Report
Louisiana offshore wind supply chain database highlights industry’s readiness
Global offshore wind company RWE and regional business booster Greater New Orleans Inc. have released the findings of a one-year collaboration to accelerate the engagement of Louisiana’s offshore wind supply chain, reports Biz New Orleans. They say the result is a database showing that more than 123 Louisiana businesses are ready to support the national offshore wind supply chain.
GNO Inc. says companies in the database provide services in six major categories: wind turbine generators; professional services; balance of plant; installation and commissioning; operation and maintenance; and mooring and anchoring.
In August, RWE bid $5.6 million to lease federal waters off Louisiana for wind energy production. The company has a signed memorandum of understanding with Entergy to evaluate the delivery of energy from offshore wind to customers in Louisiana and Texas. Read more.
This story was included in 10/12 Industry Report’s free, weekly e-newsletter covering south Louisiana industry news.
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.