Source - reNews - US offshore wind pipeline hits 80GW
U.S. offshore wind pipeline has reached just over 80 GW, reflecting a 53% increase compared to last year, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Offshore Wind Market Report 2024.
This growth includes nearly 4.1 GW currently under construction, which is more than four times the capacity that was under development in 2023.
Key developments since the previous report include the commissioning of 132 MW of new offshore wind projects, the approval of 2.3 GW in projects, and the issuance of 25 GW in new leases. Despite economic challenges highlighted in last year’s report that led to the cancellation of several offshore wind projects, most of these projects are now being rebid with their respective state utilities, according to the study.
“The response that the states had was to double down on their commitments to offshore wind,” noted Walt Musial, NREL offshore wind energy expert and one of the report’s authors.
“We even saw the state of Maine adopt new policies to procure offshore wind. I think that is a pretty positive signal.”
NREL’s research indicates that eight states have set procurement mandates totaling 45,730 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2040.
As of May 31, 2024, 15 contracts for purchasing 12,378 MW of electricity from offshore wind farms have been signed and are active nationwide, which could power over 4 million American households.
In addition to state-level initiatives, the Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that since the beginning of 2021, $10 billion in federal funding has been announced or invested in the U.S. offshore wind supply chain, demonstrating strong investor confidence in the market.
“In the last year, we’ve seen a lot of projects exiting the permitting and regulatory pipeline and moving into the construction and operating phases,” Musial added.
“There are now thousands of megawatts of domestic projects being built, and we're seeing the reality of all that regulatory planning and development turn into real projects.”
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