The Biden administration has announced an ambitious plan to line its entire coastline with offshore wind farms, using federal waters that would be offered in concession to interested developers as part of a massive expansion that aims to create 80,000 jobs and generate more than 30GW of energy by 2030. Wind is the energy source that has gained the most prominence in terms of new installed capacity over the last year in the United States.
Offshore wind energy is going to be one of the great energy sources of the future: stronger, more constant and predictable winds than inland, technology that not only makes it possible to take advantage of shallow waters, but also to anchor floating turbines far out at sea. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Portugal have already committed to offshore wind energy. What’s more, wind turbines on land are increasingly the focus of protests from local residents, whereas offshore turbines have so far only been opposed by the fishing industry. Research suggests that in the medium to longer term, the impact on marine life can even be beneficial.
The United Kingdom is now a world leader in offshore wind energy, with a production capacity of more than 10,400 MW, followed by China (9,900 MW) and Germany (7,600 MW), with the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark some way behind. Portugal started last year and installed in a single year 25 MW 20 km off the coast near its northern border with Spain, with the aim of developing experience in the construction and deployment of this type of technology, while for the last five years, its neighbor, Spain, has not expanded its initial installations of 5 MW.
Offshore wind farms make sense from every angle and will soon become a major source of renewable energy for countries with significant coastlines, driven by continual improvements in technology and the demands of reaching decarbonization objectives: the European Union expects to go from 12 GW of capacity generated by this type of technology in 2020 to 60 GW in 2030, and up to 300 GW in 2050. We will see which countries manage to understand and promote it in the right way.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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