Study: U.S. offshore wind sector investments tripled last year

The Hill:

Demand for U.S. offshore wind nearly doubled last year while investments in the sector tripled, a new report has found.

These achievements marked not only a “transformative year” for the industry, but also “an inflection point” that enabled its transition to commercial-scale operations, according to the 2023 U.S. Offshore Wind Market Report.

The annual survey, produced by the nonprofit Business Network for Offshore Wind, analyzed both industry growth in 2022 and the challenges ahead in the coming year.

“From surging investments to cutting-edge floating turbine technology on the West Coast, passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, and federal regulatory efforts that bring more certainty to permitting, 2022 kicked the American offshore wind industry into full throttle,” Liz Burdock, president and CEO of Business Network for Offshore Wind, said in a statement.

Offshore wind-related contracts in 2022 surged by 36 percent — with a majority of those bids awarded to U.S. companies, according to the report. 

[Sharon Udasin]

More: State demand for offshore wind nearly doubled in 2022: report