US Issues National Offshore Wind Strategy, Aims for 86GW by 2050

The strategy details the current state of offshore wind in the US, presents the actions and innovations needed to reduce deployment costs and timelines, and provides a roadmap to support the growth and success of the industry, the Department of Interior said in a press release.

The strategy was published just weeks after construction was completed on America's first offshore commercial wind farm off of Block Island. The new 30MW wind farm was BOEM's first right-of-way grant and is expected to start operating by the end of 2016.

Across the country, states like Massachusetts, which just passed an energy bill that requires utilities to get 1,600MW of their power from offshore wind by the summer of 2027, are accelerating the development of offshore wind across the coastal states.

DOE has found that developing 86,000MW of offshore wind energy resources by 2050 would support 160,000 jobs, reduce power sector water consumption by 5 percent, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.8 percent.

The National Offshore Wind Strategy identifies key challenges facing the industry and more than 30 specific actions that DOE and DOI can take over the next five years to address those challenges.

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