Isra-Mart srl:US unveils $50m offshore wind vision

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The US government has revealed a multi-million dollar plan designed to kick-start its nascent offshore wind energy sector in a move which could ultimately challenge the UK's position as the world's leading offshore wind hub.

Interior secretary Ken Salazar and energy secretary Steven Chu yesterday announced the Obama administration will award over $50.5m (£31.3m) to support a new research and development programme designed to lower the cost of offshore wind energy.

Salazar also announced the selection of four designated "wind energy areas" off the mid-Atlantic coast, which will benefit from fast-tracked environmental assessments designed to accelerate leasing and approval processes for proposed wind farms.

The strategy sets a target to deploy 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2020, at a cost of energy of ¢10 per kWh. Capacity would then increase to 54GW by 2030, forming a vital part of president Obama's wider goal to supply 80 percent of US electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

The move follows the granting of planning permission earlier this year to the controversial Cape Wind offshore wind project in Nantucket Sound, which had to wait almost a decade for approval and has faced repeated legal challenges.

The identified areas are located on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, and represent the latest step in the Department of the Interior's Smart from the Start programme to boost the commercial rollout of wind energy in America's waters.

The Department is also planning to select further wind energy areas off the coast of a number of North Atlantic states next month, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and launch a similar process for North Carolina this spring.

"The United States is synchronising new research and development initiatives with more efficient, forward-thinking planning so that we can help quickly stand up an American offshore wind industry," said Salazar. "This initiative will spur the type of innovation that will help us create new jobs, build a clean energy future, and compete and win in the technologies of the 21st century."

This new strategy sees the US offshore wind industry playing catch-up to Europe and China, both of which have set a target of becoming world leaders in offshore wind energy.

The UK has emerged as the leading generator of offshore wind power with 1GW of offshore capacity already installed and plans in place to build more than 32GW of capacity by 2020.

In contrast, the US has so far struggled to approve just one offshore wind farm, Cape Wind, which is expected to start construction this year.

However, the US has the capacity to generate multiple gigawatts of power using offshore wind farms that would be located close to large coastal populations.

Yesterday's announcement is the latest in a series of moves from the Obama administration in recent days designed to step up its support for low-carbon energy, and reposition its efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.