is in the early stages of development in the United States. The first commercial offshore wind farm - the 30 megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island - began operation in 2016. More projects are now underway and, as of 2017, about 30 projects totalling 24 gigawatts of potential installed capacity were being planned. In 2016, the United States Department of Energy estimated that the country has a gross resource potential of 10,800GW of offshore wind capacity, with a "technical" resource potential of 2,058GW.
Overview
Offshore wind projects are under development in wind-rich areas of the U.S. East Coast, Great Lakes, and Pacific coast. In January 2012, a "Smart for the Start" regulatory approach was introduced, designed to expedite the siting process while incorporating strong environmental protections. Specifically, the Department of Interior approved “wind energy areas” off the coast where projects can move through the regulatory approval process more quickly. The NOAA Coastal Services Center has released a cadastre web tool to illustrate suitability of Eastern seaboard areas. To comply with the Jones Act of US ships staffed by US personnel for US projects, specially built vessels for $300 million could economically supply a schedule of 4 GW projects over 10 years. The state of New York has set of target of 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind to be built by 2030. The neighbouring state of New Jersey is aiming for 3,500MW by that same date. In 2016, an update to Massachusetts energy law committed the state to purchasing 1,600MW of offshore wind by 2027, of which the first half was later awarded to Vineyard Wind. In 2019, the University of Delaware and the Danish Energy and Climate Academy jointly opened the first US skills training program for offshore wind energy professionals.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is a federal agency responsible for determining offshore areas where wind farms may be built on the Outer Continental Shelf. It sells leases to qualified bidders.
The 30MW Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States and started operation in December 2016.
List of proposed wind farms on the United States' Atlantic Coast
The following table lists largest offshore wind farm areas that are in various states development for the Outer Continental Shelf in U.S. territorial waters of the East Coast of the United States. where a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management wind energy area lease has been secured and have gained at least some required regulatory approval before construction can begin. Distances are approximated and generally represent closest point of turbine array to shoreline, while acreage represents size of total lease area, which may be shared, and not the blocks within them allocated for the wind farm.
Fisherman's Energy Atlantic City Windfarm Groundbreaking for the onshore portion of the project took place in December 2014. It was postponed in July 2017.
