Power plant developers and operators have reported plans to install more than 6 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity at sites along the US East Coast over the next seven years, according to our latest Preliminary Monthly Inventory of Electric Generators report. These additions include projects off the coasts of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as on Lake Erie, near Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2016, the 30 megawatt (MW) Block Island wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island went into operation as the first offshore wind project in the United States. Since then, an additional project, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, has been commissioned commercially in 2021. The developers plan to expand that project, which currently has a production capacity of 12 MW, to a total of 1,277 MW by 2027.
That expansion and several other projects would increase U.S. offshore wind capacity to more than 6 GW. By comparison, the United States had more than 135 GW of net summer capacity of onshore wind in March 2022, and developers plan to add another 21 GW of onshore wind capacity through 2026. We publish data on current operational and planned capacity expansions in our Preliminary Monthly Inventory of Electric Generators and Annual Inventory of Electric Generators reports.
Offshore wind tends to operate at a higher capacity factor than onshore wind due to stronger and less variable wind speeds. Offshore wind can supply power to population centers in coastal areas, where the demand for electricity is high. However, generating electricity from offshore wind is generally more expensive than onshore energy sources.
Installing offshore wind on the outer continental shelf requires a lease from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the United States Department of the Interior. BOEM has had lease sales in several East Coast locations since 2013. Acquiring a lease is a necessary step in the development of an offshore wind project, but the lease does not guarantee project viability, additional construction or transmission interconnection.
This year, BOEM has announced two offshore wind lease sales so far. In February, BOEM sold six leases in the New York Bight area, totaling 488,000 acres. In May, BOEM sold two leases in the Carolina Long Bay area of North Carolina, totaling 110,091 acres. BOEM proposed plans to auction off leased land off the coast of California later this year.
Main Contributor: M. Tyson Brown
Featured Chart Data Source: US Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Inventory of Electric Generators, Today in Energy
Related: US Dept. Of Energy joins new federal-state partnership to grow domestic offshore wind supply chain
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