OFFSHORE WIND

OFFSHORE WIND

Today, onshore wind power is the most productive renewable energy source in America, generating nearly half of its renewable energy. In 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA),renewable energy sources accounted for about 20.1% of all electricity generated (primarily from wind, solar & hydropower) --of which 9.2.% was from wind, up from 8.4% in 2019 . The growth of wind power has been astonishing – especially when you consider that wind energy only made up 0.2% of U.S. electricity generating capacity in 1990. The U.S. is now investing more in a clean energy transition than any other country in the world except China --which has got us seriously beat.

Offshore wind is well developed in other parts of the world but just getting started in the U.S.  Our explosion is about to occur.

The first five turbines, a 30 MW project developed by Deepwater Wind (now owned by Orsted) went live in 2016 providing 100% energy to Block Island with the excess going to Rhode Island’s mainland.  Two years later, in 2018, Amory B. Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that advises on renewable energy, said, “We could run the whole East Coast on offshore wind.”  His words were prescient although we did endure four years of apparent federal inactivity from 2017-2020.

This changed after Biden’s election in 2021 with the administration moving swiftly to announce a goal of 30 GW from offshore wind by 2030.

  • In May, 2021, BOEM had approved Vineyard Wind, calling for 84-turbines to be installed in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Together, they have the ability to generate about 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 400,000 homes.
  • Also in May, BOEM gave its blessing to two areas off the California coast.
  • By October, 2021,  Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said that her agency will begin to identify, demarcate and hope to eventually lease federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Maine and off the coasts of the Mid-Atlantic States, North Carolina and South Carolina, California and Oregon, to wind power developers by 2025.
  • By January, 2022, BOEM’s review of the South Fork Wind Farm, a 15-turbine, 132 MW project southeast off Long Island, with a cable landing in Wainscott, a hamlet within the Town of East Hampton, was complete and approved. Despite a significant amount of litigation, construction is proceeding and Orsid operations are scheduled to begin at the end of 2023 powering 70,000 New York homes.
  • In February, 2022, the U.S. netted a record $4.37 billion from the sale of six additional offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. When these turbines are built and operational, the auctioned acres are expected to generate up to 7,000 megawatts, enough to power nearly 2 million homes. The Interior Department has said between that project and others currently under review, it hopes to see some 2,000 turbines churning from Massachusetts to North Carolina by the end of this decade.
  • On October 18-19, 2022, the Offshore Wind Power Conference & Exhibition takes place at the convention center in Providence Rhode Island. And, the day before, you can take a boat tour to see America’s first five offshore wind turbines at Block Island.
How do offshore wind turbines work?

CURRENT NEWS

Brookhaven to get bulk of $169M deal for hosting wind farm cable

By Mark Harrington 03/20/23
Brookhaven Town will receive the lion's share of a recently inked $168.9 million benefit package from the developers of an offshore wind farm with a power cable that will make landfall at Smith Point and…
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WSJ

A New York Town Once Thrived on Fossil Fuels. Now, Wind Energy Is Giving a Lift

By Jimmy Vielkind 03/05/23
This former oil town almost 300 miles from the coast is emerging as one of the early winners in the push to develop offshore wind in the Atlantic Ocean. The hulking steel components of wind…
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Whales face many dangers: offshore wind is not one of them

By Maya Nguyen 02/23/23
A series of recent whale deaths along the Atlantic coast have raised speculation about their connection to offshore wind activity. Scientists, however, emphasize that there is no evidence to support a link between the two.
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Interior Department Proposes First-Ever Offshore Wind Sale in Gulf of Mexico

02/22/23
In another step by the Biden-Harris administration to grow America’s clean energy economy, the Department of the Interior today is proposing the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The announcement is…
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New York’s Wind Power Future Is Taking Shape. In Rhode Island.

By Patrick McGeehan 02/22/23
When Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out her plan for accelerating the development of New York’s offshore wind industry a year ago, she promised thousands of jobs for state residents.
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Whale deaths exploited in ‘cynical disinformation’ campaign against offshore wind power, advocates say

By Elizabeth Weise and Dinah Voyles Pulver 02/16/23
Efforts to stop wind turbines off the Atlantic coast have a new mascot: the whale. A dozen New Jersey beach town mayors and several other groups now argue offshore wind power activity could be the…
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Is offshore wind development a threat to whales? Here’s what to know

By Li Cohen 02/15/23
Within the span of just a few months, nine dead whales have washed up on the shores of New Jersey and New York. What's behind the mortalities has not been clearly established, but theories abound.…
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Wind Opponents launch ‘Cynical Disinformation Campaign’

02/14/23
Offshore wind opponents along the Eastern Seaboard are weaponizing disinformation about whale strandings in service of their long-held political positions against offshore wind energy. Raising issues around the environmental impacts of clean energy is a…
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Plus, nearly half of the new clean energy jobs don’t require a bachelor’s degree, and most pay more than the national median salary.

Elizabeth Weise and Dinah Voyles Pulver 02/13/23
Efforts to stop wind turbines off the Atlantic coast have a new mascot: the whale. A dozen New Jersey beach town mayors and several other groups now argue off-shore wind could be the cause of…
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Weekly data: Are whales really killed by offshore wind farms?

By Isabeau Van Halm 02/13/23
An unusually high number of beached whales along the US East Coast has some pointing the finger at offshore wind developers. However, scientists say there is no evidence for the claim.
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In Maine, coalition works to make sure organized labor has role in offshore wind

By Sarah Shemkus 02/01/23
A group of environmental and labor organizations want a state offshore wind advisory committee in its final plan to include more specific language recommending project labor and labor peace agreements. In Maine, coalition works to…
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American Offshore Wind Doesn’t Have a Plan. It Could Cost the Country $20 Billion

By Alejandro De La Garza 01/24/23
After decades of delay, the push to capture carbon-free offshore wind energy in the U.S. has finally started moving forward in recent years. Construction on the first large-scale commercial offshore wind farm in the U.S.,…
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KEY RESOURCES

Frequent Questions—Offshore Wind and Whales

03/13/23
Frequently asked questions about interactions between offshore wind energy projects and whales on the East Coast.

Reducing or Avoiding Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Fisheries

06/28/22
BOEM, in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and affected coastal states, will be holding meetings to discuss draft guidance for ways to mitigate impacts from offshore wind projects on commercial and recreational fisheries…

Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC

05/16/22
Application of Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the Construction of Approximately 3.5 Miles of Submarine Export Cable from the New York State Territorial Waters Boundary…

Our offshore wind projects in the U.S.

05/13/22
We own and operate the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and are the leading developer in the U.S. with ~5,000MW of awarded capacity through seven projects on the East Coast. Our…

About South Fork Wind

05/13/22
South Fork Wind brings unparalleled experience to Long Island. The 132 MW offshore wind farm will address East Hampton's energy needs, producing enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes. When complete, the 12 turbines will…

Offshore wind power facts

05/13/22
Offshore wind is America’s next major energy source, representing a generational opportunity to create jobs and bolster the economy. It is an abundant clean energy solution for large population centers looking to source more of…

Offshore Wind in New York

05/10/22
Long Island is poised to play a central role in the development of offshore wind (OSW) in New York State. Governor Cuomo has set an ambitious goal of 9,000 megawatts from OSW in New York…

MORE NEWS

Supply chain to support Biden’s offshore wind goals will cost at least $22.4B: report

By Sharon Udasin   01/23/23  
Fulfilling President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 would require the rapid scale-up of a domestic supply chain and at least $22.4 billion in infrastructure investments, a new report has…
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Vineyard Wind construction gains speed as industry struggles

By Benjamin Storrow   01/19/23  
Offshore wind has struggled to take hold in the United States, even as it has expanded in Europe and Asia. But signs of a coming wind boom are mounting here on Cape Cod, where the…
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Giant offshore wind turbines take shape as NJ turns on major manufacturing plant

By Nathan Kensinger and Others   01/02/23  
Before Chris Maldonado could hire a team to fabricate the colossal steel towers that will hold clean wind energy turbines aloft off the Jersey Shore, he needed to build a worksite big enough for the…
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How do floating wind turbines work? 5 companies just won the first US leases for building them off California’s coast

By Matthew Lackner   12/08/22  
Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind…
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California Offshore Wind Firms Show Caution With Modest Bids

By Jennifer A Dlouhy   12/07/22  
The turnout — just a sliver of the 43 developers that had prequalified to bid in a government auction of those coastal leases — signals some industry caution about the scale of the challenge harnessing…
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Wind Farm Update From Orsted on a Blustery Beach

By Tom Gogola   12/07/22  
Is that Poseidon’s triton reaching from the littoral shallows, or are you just trying to build a 132-megawatt wind farm? The South Fork Wind project site at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott certainly…
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Giant wind farms arise off Scotland, easing the pain of oil’s decline

By Stanley Reed   11/27/22  
Oil and gas workers, losing their jobs as fossil fuel investment wanes, find work in the wind energy business.
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Europe’s Wind Industry Is Stumbling When It’s Needed Most

Stanley Reed By Stanley Reed   11/22/22  
These should be great times to be in the wind energy business, especially in Europe. Governments here have long promoted offshore wind projects, and those efforts have accelerated since Russia started cutting natural gas shipments…
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Massive Vessels Signal Next Stage for Wind Farm

By Christopher Walsh   11/17/22  
The Jill, a 183-foot-long lift boat with jack-up legs of more than 300 feet, arrived at its position off the beach in Wainscott on Tuesday, where it is to remain for approximately three months and…
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BOEM Identifies Draft Wind Energy Areas in the Central Atlantic for Public Review and Comment

11/16/22  
As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, today the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced eight draft Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore the…
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Oceanfront Drilling Begins for Wind Farm Cable in Wainscott

By Michael Wright   11/16/22  
Engineering crews on Beach Lane in Amagansett have begun the process of drilling a 2,500-foot tunnel beneath Beach Lane, the ocean beach and the seafloor to make way for the... more
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N.J. shakes up offshore wind industry with historic $1B plan

By Heather Richards   10/27/22  
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a first-of-its-kind effort Wednesday to grapple with the significant transmission challenges of building large offshore wind farms.
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Offshore wind’s value proposition

By Simon Flowers   10/20/22  
Here’s the existential challenge that oil companies face: building an alternative income stream for the time when oil and gas demand peters out. The new business has to be sustainable, broadly commensurate in scale and…
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DOE lab: Offshore wind faces ‘recruiting challenge’

By David Iaconangelo   10/19/22  
The U.S. offshore wind industry could support as many as 58,000 jobs by 2030 if the country hits its renewable deployment goals, according to a new federal report that offers the most detailed assessment yet…
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Midcoast offshore wind project could help power Maine

By Don Carrigan   10/13/22  
Chris Wissman sat on the Portland waterfront on a foggy morning, sounding both impressed and optimistic about building the country’s first floating offshore wind turbine off the coast of Maine. “Put this next to the…
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Mayflower Wind, labor unions sign pact for offshore wind jobs

By Heather McCarron   10/06/22  
Following the lead of Vineyard Wind, which is building a wind farm just west of the Nantucket Shoals, Mayflower Wind — a second company looking to harness the winds in the same area — has…
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AP

Biden plans floating platforms to expand offshore wind power

By Matthew Dally and Others   09/16/22  
The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to develop floating platforms in the deep ocean for wind towers that could power millions of homes and vastly expand offshore wind in the United States. The plan…
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Questions abound as panel explores Calif. offshore wind

By Heather Richards   09/09/22  
Offshore wind is critical for California to reach its climate goals, witnesses told a House panel Thursday, but a host of factors, including lack of transmission lines and negative impacts on fishing, could complicate its…
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BOEM asks public to weigh in on Rhode Island offshore wind project

By Kelsey Tamborrino   08/29/22  
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Monday it will open public comment on a draft environmental analysis for the proposed Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island.
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Dominion threatens to kill biggest U.S. offshore wind farm

By Kristi E. Swartz   08/24/22  
Dominion Energy Inc. is asking Virginia utility regulators to remove strict consumer protections placed on the company’s proposed offshore wind farm, warning that it will end the multibillion-dollar project if the commission doesn’t change its…
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Next US energy boom could be wind power in the Gulf of Mexico

By Michael E. Webber and Others   08/16/22  
With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore…
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Calif. approves nation’s boldest offshore wind target

By Anne C. Mulkern   08/11/22  
California energy regulators yesterday approved an aggressive offshore wind goal that sets the stage for a proliferation of turbines along the state's made-for-movies coastline. The California Energy Commission unanimously adopted a report setting offshore wind…
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California Sets Ambitious Goal to Get Power From Offshore Wind

By Angel Adegbesan   08/11/22  
California set an ambitious target to develop offshore wind, a key part of the state’s plan to get all its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
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Avangrid will take over operation of Vineyard Wind, nation’s 1st large-scale offshore wind facility

By Robert Walton   08/04/22  
Avangrid announced Wednesday that it has finalized an agreement to manage and operate the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project when it begins operations in 2023. Co-owned with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the project off the coast…
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NY Governor Announces Third Offshore Wind Solicitation

07/29/22  
"New York is proud to continue leading the way in offshore wind development while establishing a blueprint for building a locally-based green economy," Hochul said. "Today we are putting words into action and making it…
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New York announces 2-GW offshore wind solicitation with a focus on supply chain infrastructure

By Lulia Gheorghiu   07/28/22  
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released its third competitive offshore wind solicitation on Wednesday for a minimum of 2 GW of clean energy, Gov. Kathy Hochul, D, announced. The solicitation includes…
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Haaland touts ‘balanced approach’ to offshore leasing

By Michael Doyle   07/14/22  
Haaland's appearance before the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee was ostensibly to defend the department's budget request, but she was repeatedly pressed by lawmakers on a host of issues, including the future of the…
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6 offshore wind lease areas in the New York Bight get first Interior Department regional analysis

By Lulia Gheorghiu   07/14/22  
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced plans Wednesday to conduct a regional environmental review of six areas leased for offshore wind development in the New York Bight in February. The leases were issued in…
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The Race to Build Wind Farms That Float on the Open Sea

By Chris Baraniuk   07/01/22  
THE MAKERS OF wind turbines have, for many decades now, labored to harness one of the mightiest forces in nature. They’ve moved from onshore to offshore sites, building ever larger rotors with huge blades, each…
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Offshore wind offers boost to poor town

By Jon Hurdle   06/24/22  
Herbert Thornton has been delivering tires for a living for the last five years but says he’s now ready for a change, and plans to retrain as a welder at a new factory in Paulsboro…
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Biden teams with East Coast governors to boost offshore wind

By Matthew Daly   06/23/22  
The White House on Thursday launched a formal partnership with 11 East Coast governors to boost the growing offshore wind industry, a key element of President Joe Biden’s plan for climate change.
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STATEMENT: Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting on the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership

06/23/22  
The President: I Want To Say To The Press: We Have An Impressive Group Of Governors, Labor Leaders, And Business Leaders In The Room Here, But I’m Not Going To Take The Time To Introduce…
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Biden Partners With East Coast Governors To Accelerate Offshore Wind—Here’s How It Fits Into His Climate Plan

By Brian Bushard   06/23/22  
The partnership announced Thursday between the White House and state governors from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina, intends to boost offshore wind energy…
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‘Nothing short of staggering’: Global offshore wind power pipeline ‘doubles in a year’

By Tom Gocklen - Kozlowsky   06/21/22  
RenewableUK analysis puts China just ahead of UK in terms of the amount of offshore wind capacity currently in development
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U.S. proposes offshore wind sale off California coast

By Nichola Groom   05/27/22  
The Biden administration on Thursday proposed auctioning five areas off the coast of California for offshore wind development, a critical milestone in expanding the nascent U.S. industry to Pacific waters.
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Mass. advances two major offshore wind projects

By Miranda Wilson   05/26/22  
Electric utilities filed long-term plans with the state Department of Public Utilities to procure power from the two projects, which collectively represent the state’s largest offshore wind venture, officials said yesterday. The facilities — Commonwealth…
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Secretary Haaland Provides Updates on Offshore Leasing Program During Senate Testimony

05/19/22  
“The previous Administration stopped work on the new five-year plan in 2018, so there has been a lot to do to catch up. Varying, conflicting litigation has also been a factor. As we take this…
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Offshore move highlights Biden’s mixed message on oil

By Heather Richards and Others   05/12/22  
The apparent mixed signals underscore the fine line the climate-focused President Joe Biden has tried to walk on his management of the federal oil program — the one arena where a president holds influence over…
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Ørsted Signs Pact Pledging To Use Union Labor Force In Constructing Offshore Wind Farms

By Michael Wright   05/11/22  
Wind farm developer Ørsted announced last week that it has reached an agreement with the North American Building Trades Unions, NABTU, to use an all-American union workforce in the construction... more
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Weather radar is key to bird-friendly wind energy

By Sarah DeWeerdt   05/10/22  
“This is much farther than has been considered before when making recommendations about siting wind turbines to avoid such bird concentrations,” says study team member Jeff Buler, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Delaware…
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California unveils ambitious set of offshore wind targets

By Sharon Udasin   05/09/22  
Approximately 3 gigawatts of offshore wind should be powering the state’s grid by 2030 — enough to power about 3 million average homes in the state, the California Energy Commission determined.
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Orsted will use NJ Wind Port to build offshore wind farm

By Wayne Parry   04/28/22  
Orsted, the Danish wind power developer, signed an agreement Thursday with New Jersey officials to use a state-financed manufacturing port to build the components of the state's first offshore wind farm. Gov. Phil Murphy announced…
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Interior to kick off comment period on new offshore wind leasing areas in mid-Atlantic, Pacific

By Lulia Gheorghiu   04/28/22  
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is evaluating the potential for new offshore wind leasing areas on the Central Atlantic and Pacific coasts, agency director Amanda Lefton said at the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum…
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Offshore wind development plans advance on Pacific and Atlantic coasts

By John Engel   04/27/22  
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it plans to issue two Calls for Information and Nominations on April 29, a move seen as crucial in developing projects in the federal waters.
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This Historic Community Is Pushing the Nation Toward a Wind Power Revolution

By Elizabeth Royte   04/22/22  
Block Island, 15 miles off the coast at its farthest point, has always been at the mercy of the four winds. Raging winter gusts have been known to rip porches off houses and knock stones…
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CAP

The Road to 30 Gigawatts: Key Actions To Scale an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States

By Teresa R. Christopher & Others   03/14/22  
In April 2021, the United States set an ambitious climate target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a 100 percent carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas…
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Sale of Leases for Wind Farms Off New York Raises More Than $4 Billion

By Lisa Friedman   02/25/22  
The United States government netted a record $4.37 billion on Friday from the sale of six offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, a major step in the Biden administration’s…
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Auction for the right to build wind farms off New York and New Jersey raises a record $4.37 billion

By Emma Newburger   02/25/22  
The federal government on Friday announced a record $4.37 billion sale of six offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, moving forward the Biden administration’s goal to transition from fossil…
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Governor Hochul Announces Start of Construction of New York’s First Offshore Wind Project

02/11/22  
Governor Kathy Hochul today, alongside United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and other elected officials, celebrated the start of construction of South Fork Wind, New York's first offshore wind project, jointly developed by…
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PEW

Offshore wind takes off at last. States have been counting on it

By Alex Brown   02/07/22  
The United States currently produces almost no electricity from wind farms in ocean waters. That’s about to change—fast. State leaders have spent years laying the groundwork: requiring their utilities to purchase set amounts of offshore…
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