• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • All Articles
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Episode / Is U.S. Offshore Wind Finally Happening? | Earth Wise

Is U.S. Offshore Wind Finally Happening? | Earth Wise

March 26, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

United States offshore wind is finally happening

Offshore wind capacity has been growing rapidly in recent years, especially in Europe and China.  Globally, there is now more than 30 GW of offshore wind and industry experts predict that there will be well over 200 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has only two small pilot projects, one with five turbines off Rhode Island and another with two turbines off Virginia.  But after many years of battles with determined opponents, false starts, regulatory struggles, and other hurdles, the U.S. offshore wind industry appears to be poised to take off.

A combination of significant commitments by power companies to purchase offshore wind power, strong support by the Biden administration, and billions of dollars in investments is creating the new-found momentum.

New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland have collectively committed to buying 30 GW of offshore electricity by 2035.  (That’s enough to power roughly 20 million homes).

Among the first major offshore installations to be completed in the next few years in the U.S. will be Vineyard Wind, 15 miles off of Martha’s Vineyard, another wind farm 60 miles east of New York’s Montauk Point, a third fifteen miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, and a fourth off the Virginia Coast.

Offshore wind projects will create nearly 40,000 jobs just in the New York-New Jersey area over the next ten years.  There is still some opposition from elements of the commercial fishing industry and from some coastal residents.  However, with state and federal governments committed to reducing carbon emissions and rapidly reducing regulatory barriers, and with the price of offshore wind continuing to get lower and lower, most observers agree that the U.S. offshore wind industry is finally on the verge of really getting going.

**********

Web Links

On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?

Photo, posted August 9, 2016, courtesy of Lars Plougmann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tagged With: atlantic city, biden administration, carbon emissions, china, Climate Change, coastal residents, connecticut, energy, environment, europe, fishing industry, industry, installations, jobs, maryland, massachusetts, momentum, montauk, new jersey, new york, offshore, offshore wind, opposition, pilot projects, power companies, regulations, rhode island, United States, vineyard wind, virginia, wind, wind industry, wind turbines

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Episodes

  • Volcano monitoring
  • Finding peatlands
  • More eco-friendly desalination
  • Tracking atmospheric mercury
  • Fighting honey fraud

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)

Copyright © 2025 ·