The US offshore wind industry represents a capital expenditure (CapEx) revenue opportunity of nearly $70bn, a new whitepaper by the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) estimates.
SIOW’s study, which uses analysis supplied by the Renewables Consulting Group, quantifies the timing and pace of $68.2bn in supply chain contracting prospects to install 18.6GW.
According to SIOW key industry components required for the projected utility-scale build-out of offshore wind include more than 1700 turbines and towers, worth $29.6bn, and over 1750 turbine and substation foundations, worth $16.2bn.
Other components calculated in the study include over 8000km of power export, upland and array cables, worth $10.3bn, 60 onshore and offshore substations, worth $6.8bn, plus marine support, insurance and project management activities, worth $5.3bn.
The study also details rising state commitments and forecast power procurements through 2030, amounting to more than 18GW. They include New York, which has targeted 9GW by 2035, while New Jersey has a target of 3.5GW by 2030.
Massachusetts has set a target of 3.2GW, Connecticut, 2GW, Maryland, 1.2GW, Rhode Island, 1GW, and Virginia, 12MW.
SIOW director and study author Stephanie McClellan said: “America’s offshore wind industry is taking off and what people see now is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Our analysis illuminates the market’s supply chain needs, timing and pace, and $70bn in CapEx for businesses to translate GWs into growth opportunities and build this extraordinary enterprise.”
SIOW is based at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment.
Gulf Island Fabrication constructed the foundations for the five turbines at Block Island, off the Rhode Island coast. The company’s senior vice president, business development, Bill Blanchard said: “We know the power and value of offshore wind.
“This new study shows there’s a lot more where that came from. Five foundations down, 1750 more to go. That’s the kind of business opportunity the offshore energy industry can get excited about.”
MHI Vestas US national sales director Jason Folsom said: “In quantifying the industrialisation of offshore wind in the US, this white paper illustrates just how much potential there is in the sector, top to bottom.
“It presents an exceptionally compelling case on the emergence of offshore wind as an engine for US energy transition.”
MHI Vestas plans to install 84 of its new 9.5MW turbines in Massachusetts’ 800MW Vineyard Wind project.