News

The development of the U.S. offshore wind energy indicates that if we were to harness power generated from the wind alone, it could be enough to keep the entire country’s lights on, and then some. With copious natural resources on the East and West Coasts, as well as in the Great Lakes, all indications are that the U.S. will be putting more focus on developing and investing in offshore wind power.

Offshore wind energy projects in the U.S. 

It’s hard to imagine that the first offshore wind project, the Block Island Wind Farm on Rhode Island, only came online in 2016. Fast forward just a few years to 2020, and there are now 15 active commercial leases to develop offshore wind projects in the U.S. The Department of Energy suggests that if stable policies were to be in place, the country could develop as much as 86 GW through offshore projects by 2050, recognising the potential benefits to be reaped from these undertakings. 

The first wind project in federal U.S. waters, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, just recently installed two required turbines in June 2020, which will have a 12 MW generation capacity. While the project is still undergoing testing, it is expected to start operating commercially by the end of 2020.

The advantages of these projects do, of course, also come with their own ripple effect of driving economic growth in various other industries that will assist with the construction. The American Wind Energy Association reported early in 2020 that 83 000 jobs could be created by 2030 from the development of 30 000 MW offshore wind along the East Coast. Add to that, the AWEA estimates that it could also add $25 billion in annual economic output by that time.

For any commercial offshore wind energy questions or advice, the qualified team at ANEMOI are here to assist you. Our services include gearbox oil changes, scheduled maintenance, manpower augmentation, and retrofits. ANEMOI is here to assist you with all your offshore energy projects – get in touch today.