US Offshore Wind Pipeline Reach 25.8GW

The U.S. offshore wind project development pipeline grew to a potential generating capacity of 25,824 MW across 13 states, including the Block Island Wind Farm commissioned in 2016.

Projects totaling 21,225 MW have exclusive site control, meaning the developer has a lease or other contract to develop the site. Most of these projects are on the Eastern seaboard, with one in the Great Lakes, said Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report, prepared by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

California and Hawaii have several early-stage floating offshore wind projects in the planning phase, it said.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) auctions for three lease areas off the coast of Massachusetts brought in winning bids of $135 million—more than three times the value of previous BOEM auctions—indicating strong interest and confidence in the U.S. offshore wind market.

Offtake prices for the first commercial-scale U.S. offshore wind project—Vineyard Wind off the coast of Massachusetts—came in lower than expected at $65–$75 per megawatt-hour.

Technology trends toward larger turbines continued, with offshore turbines installed globally in 2018 averaging 5.5 MW, and turbines with capacities of 10­–12 MW coming to market in the next couple years.