Offshore wind energy could add 4.2 million megawatts to the generating capacity of the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, but the U.S. market has stalled almost completely, hindered by regulatory uncertainties, political opposition, litigation and a lack of available financing. Recently, however, several broad market and regulatory themes have emerged—record low energy prices, technology improvements, the start of construction of the first commercial offshore project near Rhode Island’s Block Island and increasingly favorable federal and state policies for renewables such as the Clean Power Plan—that give reasons to believe that the sector has reached an inflection point in 2015. The question now is how to build and sustain the momentum.
Please see our publication on ENR.com for more information about offshore wind: Offshore Wind Has Come to the U.S.; EPCs Can Help It Gain Momentum