U.S. announces plans to ramp up offshore wind capacity in a big way

The U.S. wants to expand its offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030, a move the Biden administration hopes will generate thousands of jobs and unlock billions of dollars in investment in coming years.

The target, announced by the Departments of Energy, Interior and Commerce on Monday, represents a significant ramp-up of America’s fledgling offshore wind industry, which trails other parts of the world.

The United States’ first offshore wind facility, the 30 megawatt Block Island Wind Farm, began commercial operations in late 2016. By contrast, the world’s first offshore wind farm, in waters off Denmark, was opened in 1991. Today, figures from industry body WindEurope put offshore wind capacity in Europe at around 25 GW. This compares to just 42 MW of capacity in the U.S.