US picks central Atlantic sites for up to 8GW offshore wind
US picks central Atlantic sites for up to 8GW offshore wind | Windpower Monthly The Bureau of Ocean energy Management (BOEM) has finalised three areas off the central Atlantic coast to host up to 8GW of offshore wind capacity. It has selected three areas with a combined area of 1,442km2: off the coasts of Delaware Bay, Delaware and Pennsylvania, Ocean City, Maryland, and Chesapeake Bay, Virginia (see below). BOEM believes they could support 4-8GW of offshore wind capacity. The sites have relatively shallow depths – most likely enabling the use of fixed-bottom foundations. However, BOEM stated that it may later identify additional central Atlantic wind energy areas in deeper waters. BOEM stated that it had consulted tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and ocean users before selecting the three areas. It is due to publish a notice of intent to prepare environmental assessments for the three central Atlantic areas tomorrow (1 August), starting a 30-day comment period. It will hold another comment period if it decides to move forward with a lease sale for any of the three areas.
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.