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Offshore Energy: Favorable Winds for Renewables?
The Global Europe Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and European Embassies in Washington D.C. are inviting you to a virtual event on offshore wind during Earth Week.
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Overview
Offshore wind farms have become an important part of global energy markets with investments steadily rising over the last years. The 鈥淥ffshore Renewable Energy Strategy鈥 from the European Commission aims to make offshore wind capacity hit at least 60 GW by 2030. The U.S. government just recently announced a plan that sets a target to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, which the administration said would be enough to power 10 million homes and cut 78 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Join us during the on April 21 at 10AM ET/ 4PM CET for a conversation with European and American representatives of offshore wind projects about the potential for the use of offshore winds on both sides of the Atlantic, the role it has in the fight against climate change, and new innovations that are driving implementation.This conversation is part of a transatlantic green initiative organized by the Global Europe Program and European Embassies in Washington D.C.
Quotes
Bill White, Head of U.S. Offshore Wind, Avangrid Renewables
鈥淭his is a 30-year industry that started in 1991 in Denmark [鈥 we鈥檙e 30 years into it, the Europeans are driving this industry and of course Asia is now starting to pick up. And of course, here in America we鈥檝e been treading water, we鈥檝e been stalled, we鈥檝e been doing a lot of talking unfortunately, but we鈥檙e now really almost 15 years into this dream of really鈥攆inally鈥攎oving forward.鈥
鈥淵ou can make the argument for climate change urgency, you can make the argument that we have to diversify our power supply, you can make the argument that there are going to be significant clean energy jobs here, but in the end most people thought, 鈥榰gh, it鈥檚 just too darn expensive鈥.鈥
鈥淩ight now I think that the biggest opportunities are on the East Coast, with fixed-bottom technology we believe that is the most cost-effective, that鈥檚 the most proven, but in order to think about the new frontier鈥攖he Gulf of Mexico is an interesting opportunity particularly because of the existing infrastructure in industry mainly from the oil and gas industry, that can compliment the offshore wind industry, however the wind speed in the Gulf is a lot lower than it is up in the northeast so the actual energy capacity is a bit lower.鈥
Damian Bednarz, External Affairs Director, EnBW
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of best practices out there in Europe and they鈥檝e definitely had the lead in this for a very long time, but there鈥檚 a very American flavor to how we鈥檙e going to bring this here in the U.S. and we鈥檙e very much interested in learning and sharing that experience here and standing up this industry that is a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity, but it鈥檚 also key to addressing our climate goals.鈥
With a commitment from the Biden administration of 30 gigawatts by 2030, it gives a lot more support to get those investments going, it gives more opportunities for the supply chain which is critical, and manufacturing to make decisions on where we can stand this industry up in the U.S., I think those are key parts that have been part of a hindrance [鈥 I believe it鈥檚 going to be increasing with that kind of confidence increase the amount of investment you鈥檒l see here in the United States to meet that goal.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚 a great pipeline of projects lined up, it鈥檚 an opportunity to move those forward. Resources are needed. If you think about, just the sheer volume of projects that are headed their way鈥攖he Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the Department of the Interior as well as the allied agencies at the federal level鈥攖hey need that support, they need those resources to effectively review, responsibly and proactively get these projects going to meet the climate emergency that we鈥檙e in.鈥
Matt Morrissey, Head of Market Affairs & Strategy, 脴rsted Offshore North America
鈥淭he Biden administration being in place鈥攚ith key individuals in that administration having working knowledge of this industry and how it can coexist with other industries is a critical reason to be very optimistic鈥攁nd there are issues along the way that will cause some difficulty, but in our view we鈥檙e at a place now where we鈥檙e seeing鈥攁s we鈥檝e seen in other markets鈥攁 look forward now and an alignment between federal, states and local authorities that we鈥檝e never seen before.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 up to us to deliver on our promises. As we鈥檙e [鈥 building into these projects we more than ever have to show that we鈥檝e always been sincere and how we are going to bring jobs to the U.S. through offshore wind.鈥
鈥淚f we do our part and support government to do its part鈥攖he fact is we are in the midst of a climate crisis, we are in the midst of a post-COVID economic downturn [鈥鈥攚e鈥檙e as shovel ready as any industry or frankly, project, is or are in the U.S. and we鈥檙e very very optimistic about where things stand on that.鈥澛
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Global Europe Program
The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe鈥檚 capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues.聽 We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe鈥檚 relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include 鈥淯kraine in Europe鈥 鈥 an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine鈥檚 European future a reality.聽 But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe鈥檚 energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program鈥檚 staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more
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