The Future of Offshore Wind

An operational wind turbine, along with two under construction behind it, at the South Fork Wind Farm (Steve Pfost/Newsday RM/Getty Images)

Offshore wind is a crucial key to unlocking a more sustainable future. Yet, as of late, the implementation of these technologies has been facing some challenges.

The Bad News

Offshore wind is a way to source power from just the moving of air. It is considered a form of renewable energy, and the technology used to convert the kinetic energy into electricity has made considerable improvements over the past several years, making wind farms much more cost-effective and accessible to areas that want to implement more sustainable practices.

However, even though it seems like technologies like wind farms would be increasing in popularity, the opposite is currently happening. Plans to implement offshore wind are being canceled. For example, Avangrid, a clean energy company, is paying $16 million to cancel its contracts with Connecticut Power. Denmark’s Orsted, another energy company, canceled its projects with New Jersey, which forced the company to write off nearly $5.6 billion.

Many offshore wind projects have been canceled in the past year due to issues like high-interest rates leading to rising material prices and the long time it takes to plan, permit, and build these farms in the first place. Plus, some policies exponentially slow down the process, like NEPA's environmental review, which can take "4.5 years and thousands of pages on average to clear," further blocking the development of this crucial energy infrastructure.

These cancellations make it much harder for the Biden administration to implement more sustainable practices in the United States. America is one of the world’s largest polluters, and even though the Biden Administration has made promises to create a “carbon pollution-free electricity sector” by 2035 and become net-zero by 2050, delays in the deployment of technology like wind farms make it much harder for the U.S. to keep up with what they said they would do. Additionally, his goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of U.S. offshore wind power by 2030 may not be reached if these delays keep happening.

The Good News

Despite these hindrances to advancing our current state of renewable energy, not all hope is lost. Offshore wind is still crucial to the nation's future development, and a few farms have popped up recently that sprinkle some light back into the seemingly bleak future of sustainability in the U.S.

The first large offshore wind farm in New England started producing electricity on January 4th, which is an indication that despite challenges in getting these projects off the ground, it can happen. Plus, in October, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) of New York announced conditional awards for three additional offshore wind farms totaling over 4 GW of clean energy capacity — along with awards for 22 land-based solar, wind, and hydropower projects, which can provide incentives for these projects to kick off. New Jersey utility regulators just awarded contracts to two of the largest offshore wind projects ever planned in the United States, which would create enough power to support 1.8 million homes and cut emissions by the equivalent of removing nearly 1.3 million cars from the road.

In order to clarify their future steps, the Governors of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island wrote a letter to President Biden asking for further support in order to reach his goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of U.S. offshore wind power. Actions they requested include ensuring wind projects are fully eligible for tax credits and expediting the process of energy permitting. Although these can seem like small wins in the face of much more negativity, they show that progress is possible, and they prove that offshore wind is still a viable source of clean energy.

How You Can Help

While setbacks and cancellations pose challenges to the goals set by the Biden administration, it is crucial to view them as opportunities for learning and improvement. Here are a few actions you can take to support a cleaner, greener future.

1. Write to your local elected officials.

Especially if you live on the East Coast of the U.S., encouraging officials to advocate for policies that support offshore wind can help them understand that this is an issue that their citizens care about. Here's a link to an organization called Support Offshore Wind, where they have a template to voice your concerns and support: https://actnow.io/g72r8oZ

2. Invest in Renewable Energy Initiatives

Investing in renewable energy funds is a way to financially contribute to the growth of offshore wind. Directly investing in these initiatives not only provides crucial financial support but also signals to the market that there is a demand for clean energy solutions. Here's a link to an article from the Motley Fool with advice on the best renewable energy businesses to invest in: https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/energy/renewable-energy-stocks/clean-energy-etf/

3. Educate yourself - and stay positive!

In an area like New Jersey, where there have been many promises regarding the development of wind farms, support has sunk from 76% in 2019 to 54% in 2023. This decline in support has been attributed to the belief that it will hurt summer shore tourism on the Jersey Shore if implemented there, create few new jobs, and contribute to whale beachings. Yet, none of these statements are actually true. From the Jersey Shore, the wind farms will not be visible; for the New Jersey target of 11,000 MW, around 30,000 jobs will be added to the supply chain; and according to multiple sources, claims about wind farms killing whales are unsubstantiated.

This kind of misinformation can impact policymaking, further hindering the process of implementing the infrastructure that is necessary for a renewable future. By keeping yourself educated, you can inspire others to take action and contribute to the collective effort towards an environmentally friendly future.