According to a report released on August 1, 2023, by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Environmental Public Policy, the U.S. could develop enough offshore wind to provide up to 25% of the nation’s energy supply by 2050 without spiking the wholesale cost of electricity.[1] The “2035 and Beyond: Abundant, Affordable Offshore Wind Can Accelerate Our Clean Electricity Future” report shows that over 4,000 GW of offshore wind potential is available along the U.S. coastline, including the Great Lakes. The report finds that increasing the offshore wind ambition and a significant increase in the solar and onshore wind resource deployments could help achieve the U.S.’s net-zero goals while keeping the electricity prices affordable and the grid reliable. The report also found that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included incentives for offshore wind, will help cut the cost of offshore wind in the coming years.
The Berkeley study was released alongside a policy report from Energy Innovation that charts the policy pathway needed to realize offshore wind’s potential and analysis of the supply chain and transmission needs and accompanying employment benefits. Increasing ambition for offshore wind development could inject up to $1.8 trillion of investment into the U.S. economy and employ approximately 390,000 workers in the sector in 2050.
[1] https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/centers/cepp/projects
