Offshore wind has been hailed as the most favourable renewable technology for development in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) with potential for up to 508GW of capacity, according to new data.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Gulf of Mexico OCS office have published two new reports on renewable energy in the region.
The “Offshore Renewable Energy Technologies in the Gulf of Mexico” study analysed different offshore renewable energy technologies to determine which are best suited for development in GOM.
The renewable energy resources evaluated included wind, wave, tidal, current, solar, deepwater source cooling, and hydrogen.
Offshore wind showed the greatest resource potential and is the most mature technology of those analysed for the region, the report said.
Offshore wind had the largest quantity of “technical resource potential” covering all GOM states, with Texas and Louisiana being the highest.
The study determined offshore wind as the technology with the “highest readiness levels” based on cost projections.
BOEM also analysed of the economic feasibility of offshore wind for selected sites in GOM.
The report titled “Offshore Wind in the US Gulf of Mexico: Regional Economic Modelling and Site-Specific Analyses” indicated that a single offshore wind project could support approximately 4,470 jobs and $445 million in GDP during construction, as well as an ongoing 150 jobs and $14 million annually from operation and maintenance labour, materials, and services.
The results were based on a 600MW project at a reference site with a commercial operation date of 2030.
The data gleaned from these studies will inform federal, state, and local strategic renewable energy planning over the next decade, BOEM said.