In September, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) jointly released a national Offshore Wind Strategy (Strategy) in order to provide a roadmap to support growth and success of the offshore wind industry. The Strategy could help enable up to 86 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2050.
In 2010, the first U.S. offshore wind energy resource assessments were completed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. By the end of 2015, DOI awarded 11 commercial leases for offshore wind development that could support a total of 14.6 gigawatts of capacity. In May 2016, DOE identified three innovative demonstration projects that have made significant progress toward producing power.
The Strategy attributes approximately 80 percent of U.S. electricity demand located in coastal states and total offshore wind energy technical potential equal to about double the nation’s demand for electricity, offshore wind energy has the potential to contribute significantly to a clean, affordable, and secure national energy mix.
The Strategy is accessible online at http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/09/f33/National-Offshore-Wind-Strategy-report-09082016.pdf
(Kristin Garcia)
