A new report sees major opportunities for building a domestic supply chain for offshore wind power growth, but barriers remain despite support in the new climate law, Ben writes.
Why it matters: The White House is targeting at least 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in U.S. waters by 2030 and growth thereafter.
- Energy companies have big projects in various phases of development, but timelines and deployment levels remain unclear.
Threat level: Offshore wind won’t become a meaningful part of the power mix without port upgrades, greater component availability and much more — an industrial build out beyond what’s already underway.
- The report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and others describes barriers on a component-by-component basis, such as permitting uncertainty, space and workforce challenges.
- It offers a “roadmap” for development in coming years, ranging from labor force development to siting to business-to-business communication and a lot in between.
Zoom in: “Building a supply chain by 2030 that can support the near-term deployment demand of the U.S. offshore wind pipeline would require an investment of at least $22.4 billion in major manufacturing facilities, ports, and large installation vessels to be made this decade,” it states, and cautions that’s an incomplete list.