The change in direction of U.S. energy policies under President Joe Biden paves the way for a thriving U.S. offshore wind industry as the federal government wants to accelerate environmental reviews to make wind power a significant contributor to new clean energy targets. In the United States, offshore wind power has not really taken off, with only two small offshore wind farms in operation with less than 50 megawatts (MW) of combined capacity. For comparison, Europe has 113 offshore wind farms installed in 12 countries, with 25 gigawatts (GW) of high offshore wind capacity.
The USA is breaking records in wind, solar and terrestrial storage facilities, with records of each of these by 2020, according to the American Clean Power Association.
But offshore wind power has lagged far behind, also due to lengthy environmental reviews by federal agencies and the weight of the pros and cons of having offshore wind facilities in sight of beaches or in commercial fishing areas.
Change in federal policy
But now, President Biden has established offshore wind as a priority policy in one of his first executive actions to deal with the climate crisis. While stopping new leases of oil and natural gas on public lands or offshore waters, President Biden directed the Secretary of the Interior to identify measures that can be taken to double the production of renewable energy from offshore wind. until 2030.
Compared to current production, this is really a low bar, the Wall Street Journal notes.
But the radical shift in energy priorities could spur more projects, as a growing number of U.S. states on the east coast, think only of New York, set ambitious clean energy goals.
States have been established more than 29 GW of offshore wind acquisition targets to date, while developers plan to put 9.1 GW of offshore wind in line by 2026 by developing 13 offshore wind projects, according to the American Clean Power Association.
The 800 MW Vineyard Wind project, located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, will become the first large-scale wind farm in the United States and will begin supplying energy in 2023.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said earlier this month that it would resume environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project. The Trump administration canceled the entire review late last year following a request from Vineyard Wind developers to stop the process to see if the design needed to be modified after changing turbine supplier.
“Offshore wind has the potential to help our nation fight climate change, improve resilience through reliable energy, and stimulate economic development to create well-paying jobs,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton .
The developers of Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), dit after resuming the federal review process:
“We look forward to working with the agency to launch an industry that will create thousands of well-paid jobs while taking significant steps to reduce the impact of climate change.”
The smoother permitting processes could create a $ 166 billion industry
With support policies and simpler leasing and licensing processes, offshore wind development could generate a lot of value for the U.S. economy and create thousands of jobs, Wood Mackenzie said last year in commissioned research. by sectoral associations.
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Smoother processes for leasing and authorizing offshore wind projects could be facilitated up to US $ 166 billion in offshore wind investments in the United States in 2035, according to research. According to industry associations, the potential of the U.S. offshore wind industry is huge, if proper policies are in place.
Wood Mackenzie just wait that nearly 25 GW of offshore wind capacity will be added in the US by 2029.
“States have already selected 9 GW of capacity, representing more than 70% of the planned construction by 2026. And in New England and New York, 80% of wind production during this period will be on the high seas,” he said. WoodMac said in a report in June 2020.
“Offshore wind energy can be deployed on a large scale, making it a powerful tool for policymakers to achieve more ambitious clean energy targets,” said Max Cohen, chief analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
In addition, the U.S. offshore industry also offers opportunities to major European oil operators, Cohen added.
Big oil bets are important for offshore wind in the US
Some of Europe’s big oil companies, eager to show off their low-carbon energy commitments and expand their clean energy portfolios, have already decided to take advantage of these opportunities.
BP took its first step towards the offshore wind market in September with a strategic partnership with BP US offshore wind assets with Equinor in a deal worth US $ 1.1 billion.
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BP bought 50 percent to the assets of Equinor’s Empire Wind and Beacon Wind on Long Island and at the height of Massachusetts, respectively, and the strategic partnership will develop up to 4.4 GW of these two offshore wind projects. The two big majors will also jointly look for other offshore wind opportunities in the United States.
Equinor and its partner BP were selected last month for largest marine wind award in the United States so far to provide New York State offshore wind power from the first and second phases of Empire Wind and Beacon Wind totaling 3.3 GW of power to the state.
“The east coast of the U.S. is one of the world’s most attractive growth markets for offshore wind power,” said Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.
With state and federal-level support policies, U.S. offshore wind could become an even more attractive growth market.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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