The Offshore Wind Energy Market

To achieve the potential of offshore wind, the U.S. needs to invest enormous amounts of time, energy and capital into its supply chain. U.S. companies are eager to understand and benefit from the opportunity and they are looking for partnerships to help them do it.

Denmark is an undisputed world-leader in offshore wind technology and supply chain solutions. Now is therefore the time for Danish companies, with their unparalleled experience in offshore wind, to be reaching out to U.S. partners to forge collaborations that can be built and developed over the coming years. 

Key Market Drivers

The U.S. offshore wind market has rapidly emerged as state policy makers have woken to the opportunity. This change in attitudes, concerning the potential for offshore wind, has been caused by three factors. 

1. The first is the real challenges experienced by almost every state in building new onshore infrastructure. This relates to all forms of infrastructure but particularly to wind turbines and transmission.
   
   
2. The second is that over the last few years almost all coastal states have implemented ambitious renewable energy targets which, in most cases, include equally ambitious goals for the installation of offshore wind.
   
   
3. The third factor is the sharp fall in offshore wind costs which has been achieved in Europe over the last twenty years and particularly since 2016. This has led coastal states to realize the vast potential in offshore wind resources located immediately off their respective coastlines.

The Booming East Coast

The East coast states from Virginia in the south to Massachusetts in the north, have been the most progressive. Massachusetts took the earliest lead and was rapidly followed by New York and New Jersey. But others, most recently Virginia, have joined with aggressive renewable portfolio standards in combination with specific targets for offshore wind. 

Current targets, if met as expected by 2035, will generate approximately 40,000 jobs, will require $100-billion in investment and will generate just under 20 % of total regional electricity demand.

The Emerging West Coast

The West coast has been slower to wake to the potential of offshore wind. This is primarily a reflection of the steeply sloping continental shelf off the Pacific coast. This means that fixed-bed offshore wind is not possible at scale due to the extreme water depths. New technology – floating offshore wind – needs to be developed at reasonable cost before the west coast states will move on this opportunity.

There have been promising developments in just the last couple of years and this has led to increased interest from developers and, with it, increased political interest from state governments.

_{Header photo credit: Ørsted}