Review Puts U.S. Closer to Offshore Wind Goals

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. federal government could be moving closer to its offshore wind energy benchmark after completing the environmental review of two projects in the Atlantic Ocean that would combine for 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of power.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Shell New Energies and EDF-RE Offshore Development, said Thursday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed its review of two wind farms off New Jersey that could combine to meet the energy demands of nearly 1 million homes.

"Public engagement and Tribal consultations were vital in informing BOEM's thorough environmental evaluation of the proposed Atlantic Shores South Wind Project," said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. "Completing this environmental analysis is a significant milestone in the administration's drive to realize clean energy ambitions that will enhance the lives of Americans now and for generations to come."

President Joe Biden set a goal of establishing 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and another 15 GW in floating offshore capacity by 2035.

Still in its infancy, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. territorial waters officially opened in March when Orsted and utility company Eversource started operations at the 128-megawatt South Fork wind farm off the coast of New York.

New Jersey has its own goals, envisioning up to 11 GW of offshore wind power by 2040. Atlantic Shores, meanwhile, already has offtake agreements for some 1.5 GW from its proposed facility.

"We are encouraged to see forward progress and getting another step closer to delivering New Jersey's first offshore wind projects," said Joris Veldhoven, the chief executive officer at Atlantic Shores. "We appreciate BOEM's thorough environmental evaluation and recognize the significance of this milestone in reaching the Garden State's goal of 100% clean energy by 2035."

The company is planning for as many as 200 wind turbines and 10 offshore substations slated for a lease area covering roughly 160 miles some nine miles off the coast of New Jersey.

Elsewhere, Virginia-focused Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) said it has installed the first foundation for its 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, the largest offshore wind farm currently under construction in the country. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here to learn more about the project.

To avoid risks to the endangered North Atlantic right whale, the company will pause construction between November 1 and April 30, 2025. But all 176 turbines should be spinning by late 2026, providing energy for up to 660,000 homes.

A lawsuit filed against Dominion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argued there wasn't enough research on the environmental impacts of the project, particularly regarding the endangered right whale.

Dominion said this week it would use so-called bubble curtains--a string of perforated hoses that have air pumped through--to dampen the noise of construction, avoiding some of the disruptions to marine mammals.

A dead North Atlantic whale, along with a newborn calf, was found near Virginia Beach earlier this year. Public speculation led to finger-pointing at the offshore wind energy sector, though the federal government finds most North Atlantic whales have died as a result of entanglement in fishing gear or from vessel strikes.

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