U.S. Ocean Wind Gets Stronger

Offshore wind finally gets blowing in the US; It’s all happening.

David Roberts, June 14, 2018 (VOX)

“…Momentum [for U.S. offshore wind] is now gathering in earnest…New England states are signing big contracts…In late May, [Massachusetts awarded a contract to] the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project off the coast of southern Massachusetts, which will start construction in 2019…[On the same day, Rhode Island awarded a contract to the 400 MW] Revolution Wind project, by developer Deepwater Wind, to start construction 30 miles off the coast, about 12 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, in 2022…[A new report estimates a 1,600 MW offshore wind deployment will support between 6,870 and 9,850 job years over the next ten years, with] ‘an economic impact in Massachusetts of between $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion.’ Between $675 and $800 million of that is direct economic output…[The price for U.S. offshore wind has already dropped from $0.244/kWh in 2016 to $0.132/kWh in 2017. Though still well over onshore wind’s high-end price of $0.06/kWh, the price is] headed in the right direction quickly…[Development is also slowly moving in] New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Delaware…The EU already has 16,000 MW of offshore wind installed, and growth is only accelerating; investment in the industry could top $10 billion in 2018 [so the US will be catching up for years but the] US Department of Energy predicts around 22,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030…” click here for more

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