US to install less than half of 30GW offshore wind goal by 2030
US to install less than half of 30GW offshore wind goal by 2030 | Windpower Monthly
The US will have 14GW of offshore wind deployed by 2030 – missing President Joe Biden’s 30GW goal by a wide margin. The 14GW figure is cited in a new offshore wind report by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), which cites market analysts.
However, Biden’s 30GW goal will be met just three years later, in 2033, according to the ACP. By 2035, there will be 40GW in the water, it forecasts.
There are currently 12GW of US offshore wind projects with active offtake agreements, including 4GW under construction at Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW).
There is also 56GW of capacity under development across 37 seabed leases.
The industry committed a record $3 billion of supply chain investment in 2023 alone, with total infrastructure investment announcements now exceeding $9 billion, according to the report.
“After the successful start-up of the 132MW South Fork wind farm earlier this year, and with 136 MW operational at Vineyard Wind, offshore wind is gaining momentum with three projects under construction and 37 more in development,” said ACP chief policy officer Frank Macchiarola.
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.