US network puts the case for offshore wind

The 60-page report, Offshore Energy at Work, ‘tells the stories of American shipyards, factories and ports, where thousands of people are building the infrastructure necessary to deliver reliable, home-grown energy and meet our countruy’s growing power needs’.

Whether the report has been released to coincide with next week’s inauguration of Donald Trump, who has said he would eradicate offshore wind, Oceantic does not say.

It does say that it has ‘travelled across the country in 2024, collecting photos and videos that provide a first-hand look at how states and companies are bringing American ingenuity and resilience to this burgeoning domestic offshore wind industry’.

One of the problems with the domestic offshore wind industry in the US is the lack of vessels and equipment available, particularly as the Jones Act is tricky to work around with foreign vessels.

However, Oceantic says the industry ‘is helping to advance our skilled workforce, enabling shipyards to build bigger and more globally competitive vessels, revitalising our ports with advanced industrial capabilities, and sparking new opportunities across the country in manufacturing and steel production’.

Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock says in her introduction that it is a story of success and momentum, and that 5GW is already under installation or operation, with another 8GW approved for construction.

“That’s nearly 1,000 wind turbines, hundreds of supply chain partners, dozens of vessels, and a massive workforce building and maintaining these offshore assets,” she says.

However it has certainly not all been plain sailing, with several projects being cancelled or postponed, notably two Ørsted Ocean Wind projects in New Jersey, which totalled 2.4GW; and three New York projects cancelled by NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) in April 2024, totalling 4GW.