Study: Offshore wind could generate all U.S. electricity

U.S. offshore winds, abundant off the coasts of 26 states, have the potential to generate four times as much power as the nation’s present electric capacity, a new Department of Energy report says.

Developing this resource would help the United States reduce air pollution, achieve 20% of its electricity (or about 54 gigawatts) from wind by 2030 and create more than 43,000 permanent, well-paid technical jobs, according to the 240-page study by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The United Kingdom leads worldwide in the amount of power it has generated from offshore wind projects from 1991 to 2010, followed by Denmark, according to a new U.S. Department of Energy study.

“Clean, renewable energy development that capitalizes on the nation’s vast offshore wind and water resources holds great promise for our clean energy future and our economy,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in releasing the findings.

The United States leads the world in installed, land-based wind energy capacity, but it has no offshore wind farms yet, the report says. About 20 projects, such as the one off Cape Code, Mass., are in the planning and permitting process, most of them in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic regions. Other projects are being considered along the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Coast.

“Overall, the opportunities for offshore wind are abundant, yet the barriers and challenges are also significant,” the report says, advocating for policies and research to facilitate these projects. In contrast, the report says, Europe has held the lead in offshore wind since Denmark’s first project in 1991, having installed more than 830 turbines with grid connections to nine European countries.