In the last year, the federal government and several states have announced ambitious goals to decarbonize the electricity sector in the U.S. A key part of these decarbonization goals could be offshore wind, which has the potential to provide 2,000 GW of energy according to the Department of Energy (DOE). As such, coastal states in the Atlantic and the president have announced significant efforts to support the growth of offshore wind.
In line with this public policy support, the offshore wind pipeline has grown substantially in recent years. According to the DOE’s 2021 Offshore Wind Market Report, in 2020, the U.S. offshore wind pipeline grew 24% over the previous year, with a potential generating capacity of 35,324 MW in various stages of development compared to 28,521 MW in 2019. Currently, there are two operating projects totaling 42 MW: the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm and the 12 MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project. However, while the offshore wind industry is growing, several issues must be resolved to deploy offshore wind technology at the pace called for in public policies. In particular, transmission interconnection will be a deciding factor in the future of the burgeoning offshore wind industry.