Wind is one of the planet’s most efficient renewable power sources and offshore winds tend to blow harder and more uniformly than on land. Yesterday, the New York State Energy and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected Equinor and incoming strategic partners bp to transform two of New York’s ports into large-scale offshore wind working facilities in hopes of positioning New York as an offshore wind industry hub.
- The northeastern seaboard of the US is seeing significant offshore wind project activity, driven by sustained winds, developed state policy regimes and shallower water of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
- Because higher wind speeds can produce significantly more energy/electricity, developers are increasingly interested in pursuing offshore wind energy resources
- New projects = new jobs + homegrown renewable energy
- The total US offshore wind power potential is estimated at 2,000 gigawatts (GW), more than twice the total electricity consumption in the US in 2020.
- This new award will add ~2.5 GW of power, so…
- We are still in the nascent stages of offshore wind power development, but this is a very strong next-step!
