New report projects major economic impact for offshore wind

The U.S. offshore wind industry is developing 30,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind along the East Coast that will have a significant economic impact.

A new report by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) called the U.S. Offshore Wind Power Economic Impact Assessment says offshore wind could support 83,000 jobs and deliver $25 billion in annual economic output by 2030.

“Offshore wind is key to the future of clean energy development in the U.S. and will add to a thriving wind power industry that already represents the largest source of renewable energy in the country,” AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan said. “The offshore wind industry will create tens of thousands of jobs and provide billions of dollars to the economy while delivering on its enormous untapped potential to power major population centers up and down the East Coast.”

Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia all have plans to produce a total of 25,400 MW of offshore wind before 2035.

“State leaders are seeing the environmental and economic promise of offshore wind and are stepping in to provide the vision and policies to help this industry quickly achieve scale,” Kiernan said. “Offshore wind, following on the rapid proliferation of land-based wind over the past decade, is positioned to achieve significant growth and deliver jobs and economic output along the East Coast and throughout the rest of the country.”

Last year, land-based wind power reached more than 100 GW of operating capacity – which is four times higher than in 2008. AWEA officials expect the same type of growth for offshore wind going forward.