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Released October 23, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Though the federal U.S. government continues to open new acreage to develop offshore wind, the goal of establishing 30 gigawatts (GW) worth of capacity by the end of the decade could be challenging given recent economic trends.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced on Monday that it finished the environmental review of six potential wind-energy lease areas covering more than 488,000 acres off the coasts of New Jersey and New York.
If fully utilized, BOEM expects the area could support the development of 7 GW of wind energy, putting the U.S. one step closer to President Joe Biden's goal of establishing 30 GW offshore by 2030.
In a progress report on the wind energy sector, however, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that short-term developments could be hampered by costs.
"Economic indicators suggest long-term U.S. market growth, while inflationary cost increases may hinder near-term growth," NREL's report read.
Early this month, New England utility company Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) (Hartford, Connecticut) said it's now a "pure-play regulated pipes and wires utility" after selling off its 50% stake in the 132-megawatt (MW) South Fork Wind project and the 704-MW Revolution Wind project to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) (New York, New York).
Eversource suggested it took a loss on the sale, which it attributed to delays at Revolution Wind. Danish energy company Ørsted (Fredericia, Denmark), the project's developer, announced in August that completion would be delayed a year to 2025 because of contamination at a development site in Rhode Island.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the Revolution Wind project report and click here for the South Fork Wind project report.
Meanwhile, a nascent offshore wind energy sector means much of the supply chain is getting built when needed, creating log jams for components such as turbine blades. And because the industry is new relative to economies such as Europe's, many suppliers may be reluctant to get into the fledgling U.S. offshore wind energy business even with the federal incentives outlined in Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act.
Elsewhere, Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia), which is party to the 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore wind project, said that about 80% of its power over the next 15 years will come from carbon-free technology. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
The remaining 20%, however, will come from natural gas, which it said was "a critically important" source of energy that is reliable at times when wind and solar are not producing power.
There are only 174 MW worth of offshore wind energy capacity presently online in the U.S., coming from just three facilities. But the longer-term trends look more promising. Three projects are under construction that have a peak design capacity of 4.1 GW, while another 19.8 GW are spread out over 18 separate projects in the permitting stage.
All told, NREL believes there are already more than 27 GW of projects that are at or beyond the permitting stage, meaning the nation is moving slowly, but surely toward its objectives.
The first offshore wind farm, Block Island in Rhode Island with its 30-MW capacity, started operations in 2016. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Plant Database can read the plant profile for the Block Island facility.
Subscribers can click here for all project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced on Monday that it finished the environmental review of six potential wind-energy lease areas covering more than 488,000 acres off the coasts of New Jersey and New York.
If fully utilized, BOEM expects the area could support the development of 7 GW of wind energy, putting the U.S. one step closer to President Joe Biden's goal of establishing 30 GW offshore by 2030.
In a progress report on the wind energy sector, however, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that short-term developments could be hampered by costs.
"Economic indicators suggest long-term U.S. market growth, while inflationary cost increases may hinder near-term growth," NREL's report read.
Early this month, New England utility company Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) (Hartford, Connecticut) said it's now a "pure-play regulated pipes and wires utility" after selling off its 50% stake in the 132-megawatt (MW) South Fork Wind project and the 704-MW Revolution Wind project to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) (New York, New York).
Eversource suggested it took a loss on the sale, which it attributed to delays at Revolution Wind. Danish energy company Ørsted (Fredericia, Denmark), the project's developer, announced in August that completion would be delayed a year to 2025 because of contamination at a development site in Rhode Island.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the Revolution Wind project report and click here for the South Fork Wind project report.
Meanwhile, a nascent offshore wind energy sector means much of the supply chain is getting built when needed, creating log jams for components such as turbine blades. And because the industry is new relative to economies such as Europe's, many suppliers may be reluctant to get into the fledgling U.S. offshore wind energy business even with the federal incentives outlined in Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act.
Elsewhere, Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia), which is party to the 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore wind project, said that about 80% of its power over the next 15 years will come from carbon-free technology. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
The remaining 20%, however, will come from natural gas, which it said was "a critically important" source of energy that is reliable at times when wind and solar are not producing power.
There are only 174 MW worth of offshore wind energy capacity presently online in the U.S., coming from just three facilities. But the longer-term trends look more promising. Three projects are under construction that have a peak design capacity of 4.1 GW, while another 19.8 GW are spread out over 18 separate projects in the permitting stage.
All told, NREL believes there are already more than 27 GW of projects that are at or beyond the permitting stage, meaning the nation is moving slowly, but surely toward its objectives.
The first offshore wind farm, Block Island in Rhode Island with its 30-MW capacity, started operations in 2016. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Plant Database can read the plant profile for the Block Island facility.
Subscribers can click here for all project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
