The US Government has published a strategic plan to continue accelerating the development of offshore wind energy in the country.
Called 'National Offshore Wind Strategy: Facilitating the Development of the Offshore Wind Industry in the United States', the plan was announced by secretary of energy Ernest Moniz and secretary of the interior Sally Jewell.
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The plan details the present state of offshore wind in the country, highlighting actions and innovations required to cut deployment costs and timelines, as well as offering a roadmap to support the growth and success of the industry.
The strategy highlights challenges facing the industry and more than 30 specific actions that the department of energy (DOE) and department of the interior (DOI) can take over the next five years to address those challenges.
It also proposes the joint development of standard data collection guidelines to foster predictability and inform safe project development. Using this information, the DOE would work to increase annual energy production and reliability of offshore wind plants.
According to the report, several actions need to be taken to ensure that the regulatory process is predictable, transparent, efficient, and informed by lessons learned from regulators in other countries.
In addition, as the first generation of installed projects come online, the DOI and DOE will collect field data on parts of offshore development including impacts on marine life and turbine radar interference.
Studies are also required to help quantify the impact of broad grid integration and the addition of adding significant amounts of offshore wind energy to the power system.
Once implemented, the plan is expected to help enable 86GW of offshore wind in the US by 2050.
