Posted on August 7, 2023
In May, ships started arriving in New Bedford, Massachusetts carrying offshore wind turbines taller than a football field is long. These turbines are now being installed 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard at the United States’ first utility-scale offshore wind farm. 62 turbines, capable of powering over 400,000 homes, will provide pollution-free electricity to New England. Here, offshore wind is the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
But New England isn’t alone.
New research from UC-Berkeley, GridLab, and Energy Innovation shows offshore wind could provide clean, affordable power off every coast in this country as a fundamental part of decarbonizing our economy.
The U.S. has one of the world’s best offshore wind resources, with strong and steady winds blowing across thousands of miles of coastline. Taking advantage of this proven technology can enhance grid reliability, maintain affordable power, and create nearly 390,000 jobs. Supplying 10-25% of our electricity in 2050 with offshore wind could maximize these benefits, representing a buildout of 250-750 gigawatts (GW) nationwide.
The study also reveals that failing to embrace the country’s offshore wind potential risks our goals of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Offshore wind can significantly reduce the total amount of clean energy needed to meet these goals.
While states and the Biden administration have expressed commitment to developing the industry domestically, their ambition lags behind other first-mover nations. The federal target of 30 GW by 2030 puts the U.S. on a pathway to 110 GW of operational turbines by 2050.
By contrast, in Europe where electricity demand is 75% of U.S. levels, several nations combined aim for 450 GW by 2050. China will have almost 200 GW installed by 2035 alone. This increasing global ambition follows cost declines that occurred faster than expected – in the United Kingdom, auction prices decreased 67 percent between 2015 and 2022.
The U.S. still has time to bring the benefits of this technology home. However, scaling domestic offshore wind requires bold state and federal policies to provide certainty to developers and investors in an industry that requires not just turbines but large ports, ships, transmission lines, and manufacturing.
Benefits of offshore wind
Offshore wind blows strong and steady, meaning the U.S. has potential for 1,000 GW of wind farms that provide their full electricity capacity more than 50% of the time, and more than 4,000 GW overall. This output rivals many coal fired-power plants across the country – in 2021, the average coal fired-power plant output was 46%.
Offshore wind is also highly compatible with onshore wind and solar. For example, East Coast offshore wind blows strongest in winter, when the system is most strained, whereas on the West Coast it peaks in the summer evenings. Because of this output, installing 250 – 750 GW would reduce the need for battery storage by 10% – 20% in a decarbonized grid.
This could help retire polluting fossil plants in coastal communities. For example, in New York, the Ravenswood Gas Plant and Astoria Gas Turbines have both sold their grid connections to offshore wind farms in various stages of development to bring clean energy to their communities. Studies also find offshore wind can help accelerate retirement of California’s natural gas plants, particularly peaker plants that significantly worsen air pollution in disadvantaged communities.
In addition to diversifying when renewable energy is produced, offshore wind diversifies our technology and land-use. Because we need near-total electrification of industry, buildings, and transport to decarbonize our energy system, electricity demand will nearly triple by 2050. To meet that demand, the U.S. would need to build solar and onshore wind more than six times faster than in 2021. However, if offshore wind generates 25% of the nation’s electricity supply in 2050, that pace is reduced to a more achievable 3 to 4-fold acceleration, significantly de-risking the possibility that we cannot build enough renewables to meet our clean energy goals and secure a stable climate.
AT SEA – APRIL 28: Workers look out at wind turbines at the Alpha Ventus offshore windpark on April 28, 2010 in the North Sea approximately 70km north of the German coast. Alpha Ventus, which is a pilot project between energy producers E.On, Vattenfall and EWE, officially began operation the day before and will deliver 60 Megawatts of power from its 12 turbines. It is also Germany’s first offshore windpark.
Clean energy job boom
The economic benefits of a strong offshore wind industry could be felt nationwide – building 750 GW of offshore wind would create nearly 390,000 jobs. These are not limited to coastal construction jobs – they’re spread across manufacturing facilities for turbine components. The offshore wind industry could underpin a just transition for underserved communities and fossil fuel workers, as with offshore oil workers in Scotland.
The nascent offshore wind industry has partnered with union labor on turbines, ships, and substations, demonstrating how these projects and their supporting infrastructure could create high-quality, family sustaining jobs. Particularly with turbine installation, these jobs could help revitalize port communities. Workforce readiness programs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have ensure jobs are available to underrepresented communities by helping prepare local community members for paid union apprenticeship programs, that typically guarantee a position after graduation.
Recent “local” opposition to offshore wind, which has been funded by the fossil fuel industry, implies offshore wind could harm marine ecosystems – particularly whales. However, whale strandings and deaths have been so far attributed to vessel strikes and fishing equipment entanglements. Meanwhile climate change presents one of the biggest threats to marine life as rising temperatures shift feeding grounds and increase contact between shipping vessels and wildlife.
The truth is that overall community support for offshore wind remains high, with recent polls showing most coastal residents support offshore wind. 66 percent of respondents support expanding offshore wind near where they live, and over 75 percent said visible wind turbines would not decrease their desire to visit the beach.
The offshore wind industry has materially committed to protecting marine life, including vessel speed limits. With proper regulation, offshore wind creates an unprecedented opportunity to better understand marine ecosystems through continuous monitoring of sites before and during construction, and operation.
New policies are needed to diversify clean electricity
The U.S. must shift course to secure the benefits of a growing offshore wind industry. States and the federal government should increase their offshore wind goals, and particularly binding utility procurement targets. These goals currently total over 40 GW by 2035 and over 85 GW by 2050. If states and the federal government commit to increase this to 400-500 GW by 2050, we’d be roughly on pace with recent European Union commitments and just behind China’s.
Offshore wind targets around the world outpace U.S. ambition.
Because of the sheer volume of renewable energy required to hit net zero, these commitments would be low regrets for states and crucial to local economic growth. Binding long-term commitments would create certainty for investors and developers and fuel investment in wind farms, the large infrastructure projects, and supply chains required to support the build out.
And while the Inflation Reduction Act created an offshore wind manufacturing tax credit for large turbine components, future federal tax policy should account for manufacturing smaller components to boost incentives throughout the supply chain.
Significant port, shipyard, and transmission network investments will also be required, with total annual investments nearing $4.5 billion. For large, risky investments like specialty steel and vessels, the federal government can backstop projects to ensure these investments are made.
Dedicated planning and funding support to ready ports for turbine assembly and launch also requires significant attention from state legislatures and Congress. The federal government should also plan for and fund transmission projects that optimize across wind farms to decrease costs and community impacts.
Manufacturing facilities required to support U.S. offshore wind buildout domestically.
To support communities impacted by offshore wind development, states and the federal government should provide grants to underrepresented communities and Tribes to facilitate participation in federal processes. Finally, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management can require local hire stipulations and community benefits agreements as a part of the leasing process for offshore wind areas.
It’s simple, not easy
Bringing the offshore wind industry to fruition at large scale in the U.S. will not be easy, but examples from around the world show the industry is primed for huge cost declines and big benefits. Offshore wind will be vital to meeting our climate goals thanks to its powerful output and compatibility with electricity demand–now is the time to commit.
