Today the U.S. has only two offshore wind farms with a total of five turbines. That’s going to change fast.
Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman reported in The New York Times Wednesday, “Construction on the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is expected to begin this summer, after the Biden administration gave final approval Tuesday to a project it hopes will herald a new era of wind energy across the United States.
“The Vineyard Wind project calls for up to 84 turbines to be installed in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Together, they could generate about 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 400,000 homes.
“In addition to Vineyard Wind, a dozen other offshore wind projects along the East Coast are now under federal review. The Interior Department has estimated that by the end of the decade, some 2,000 turbines could be churning in the wind along the coast from Massachusetts to North Carolina.”
In March, the Biden Administration has announced a major initiative to boost offshore wind energy capture. “Taken together, the initiatives will create 77,000 jobs, generate enough electricity to power over 10 million homes for a year, and avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions,” writes Andrea Germanos in Common Dreams.
Nearly 800,000 acres in the shallow ocean triangle known as the New York Bight (see map above) along Long Island and the New Jersey coast is earmarked to become "Wind Energy Areas." $8 million has been allocated for 15 new offshore wind research and development projects.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said, "The potential to power our country using clean, renewable energy off our coasts is immense, and the Biden administration's commitment forges a path to take full advantage of offshore wind. This federal leadership should give states the confidence to continue making bold commitments to go big on offshore wind. Now that the executive branch is throwing its weight behind timely and ambitious development, it's full-steam ahead."
The Biden administration announcement marks a “sea change” in U.S. energy policy.
Read the New York Times 5/11/21 story here.
Find out more details in Common Dreams here.