Move America’s offshore wind energy from potential to power

As leaders gather for the first in-person celebration of Capitol Hill Ocean Week in two years, we have a proposal for how to bridge the chasm between America’s offshore wind energy ambition and current capacity. 

The gap is sizable. At present, the U.S. has only two operational offshore wind farms with a total output of just 42 megawatts. Getting to 30 gigawatts (a hundred times larger than megawatts) by 2030, the target set by the Biden-Harris administration, requires increasing wind energy generation by a staggering 700 times.  

Potential is worth pursuing

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just announced that CO2 levels in May reached 421 parts per million, “pushing the atmosphere further into territory not seen for millions of years.” Offshore wind energy can shift that balance by preventing 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from further heating up our planet, the equivalent of taking nearly 17 million gas cars off the road for a full year. Done responsibly, offshore wind would also inject more than $12 billion in annual capital investments on both coasts and create more than 44,000 jobs while protecting one of our greatest natural resources — our ocean.  

Consumers are already driving demand for clean energy

Developers are responding with aggressive bids for offshore wind leases as they become available. Last month, the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) attracted $315 million for two leases in the Carolina Long Bay wind energy area. The New York Bight lease sales pulled in a staggering $4.3 billion. BOEM quickly followed up with an announcement of offshore wind lease sales in California. They are the first for the west coast and the first to require floating technology.  

Offshore wind energy faces multiple challenges

It ranges from permitting coordination to conflicts among different ocean uses, electrical transmission planning to limited capacity at key federal agencies. 

New and evolving technologies are driving exponential growth in the industry. Our legal and regulatory structure and traditionally siloed management must keep pace to evaluate cumulative impacts and set wind projects on a course for success.  

There is much work to be done to realize the promised benefits of climate mitigation, conservation and the equitable accrual of multiple benefits from offshore wind.  

It is a formidable but not insurmountable task

Our analysis recommends a combination of policy changes and regulatory actions that the administration, federal agencies and Congress can take from offshore wind project siting to transmission, leasing to construction and operation.  

BOEM is charged with setting a strong foundation for ocean energy management. The agency must examine and revise the offshore wind development permitting processes set in early 2009 that borrowed from oil and gas regulations. Regulatory updates are a priority that simply cannot be left for later.  

The president’s budget recognizes the current capacity limitations for BOEM, NOAA and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The administration requested $45 million for NOAA to build staff capacity, science, monitoring and fisheries needs related to offshore wind. Congress must do its part to ensure vital agencies can support this quickly evolving industry.  

The White House Ocean Policy Committee has all the key federal ocean and coastal agencies at the table and already provides a ready forum for interagency coordination. Together with the Permitting Council to oversee project authorizations, permits can be advanced with reduced conflict.  

The U.S. can build on the strong foundation of existing laws that govern our ocean and coasts including promoting the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and using ocean planning best practices and adaptive management. The Regional Ocean Partnerships and associated data portals can also deepen stakeholder and community coordination and drive evidence-based decisions.  

Sea: The future

As we celebrate the ocean on Capitol Hill and mark another National Ocean Month, we call on Congress to: 

• Revise the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to create a separate title for offshore wind, which will account for different needs of this unique industry and create opportunities for comprehensive planning and management. 
• Fully fund federal agencies engaged in offshore wind planning and permitting to ensure that staff have the resources to assess impacts, advance projects, conduct environmental review and engage ocean users and underserved communities,  
• Establish a comprehensive ocean statute, comparable to those that exist for public lands, as a basis for landscape-scale conservation and renewable energy programs.  

We need to move America’s offshore wind energy from potential to power. The time to act is now. 

Amy Trice is director of Ocean Conservancy’s Ocean Planning program. Trice is a published expert on integrated ocean management working on federal ocean policy and with the Ocean Policy Committee and the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Ted Boling is a partner with Perkins Coie. Boling previously served on the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and as the country’s top National Environmental Policy Act attorney. They are co-authors of a new report on America’s offshore wind energy potential.