The US government see offshore wind installations as a key part of their carbon neutral goals. However, the US lag far behind Europe and China for large offshore wind farm projects. Far from catching up, recently, mainly due to regulator delays and financial issues, to say they are falling ever further behind is an understatement.

Wind Farms Abandoned Before Completion

New York state has a handful of farms in development, however, with only 2 close to completion the others are now in doubt. High US inflation has increased costs to the point where the farm developers would have to charge more for their power than conventional producers. The state government find this unacceptable and will not allow the farm owners to pass on increased prices to consumers. The sites are now financially unviable, so unless there is government assistance, the farms will be abandoned or sold on.

In other states some companies have paid to get out of their contracts rather than build them at a considerable loss.

Biden's Pipe Dream

These delays push back against the environmental targets of the Biden administration. Their goal of 30,000 MW of electrical power from offshore wind by 3030 seems like a pipe-dream, considering that production is less than 50 MW right now (2024).

About The Author
Markus Woznica
Chewells Contributor

Markus is a renewable energy expert. The technology in this sector is changing fast. There is a... »

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Replies

• Clarey (Feb 8, 2024)
  Out at sea, we can't see how many birds they kill.
• Yorky (Feb 4, 2024)
  Before the wind farms have paid for themselves, technology will have moved on. There will be better forms of clean power and we will need to pay to have these eye sores removed.
• Lorenzo (Feb 3, 2024)
  We need more and more power every year we can not keep on building these windmills. We need a better solution.
• Olly (Feb 3, 2024)
  Oil keeps burning, but the wind doesn't always blow.
• Kite (Feb 1, 2024)
  When people see just how many of these windmills we are going to need and keep building more, and their effect on wildlife, there will be a backlash. Only then will they come to their senses and build nuclear reactors where we get constant safe power.
• Urian Udell (Feb 1, 2024)
  I've said this a thousand times. We need to get carbon capture sorted on a big scale. Then we can take our time to get the alternative to fossil fuel power development sorted. That way we can have greater control over the environment.
• Hamish Flemming (Jan 28, 2024)
  Lot of money being wasted with all this environmental stuff.
• Buck (Jan 28, 2024)
  White elephant.

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