The US offshore wind industry has had some significant problems lately – but here’s why that’s not going to stop the young sector in the long run.
According to the US Department of Energy’s 2023 Offshore Wind Market report from August, around 27 power offtake contracts totaling more than 17 gigawatts (GW) of potential energy were signed by the end of May. But higher financing costs, inflation, and supply-chain bottlenecks have eaten away at the potential profitability of some of those planned US offshore wind farms. Some offshore wind developers have canceled their offtake agreements, and others have asked for renegotiations.
As the US sees its first two offshore wind farms come online by the end of this year, here are four reasons why ultimately, the financial and supply-chain problems will pass:
Delays won’t be that dire. Most offshore…