It’s Monday, November 2, and three Eastern states plan to collaborate to develop offshore wind projects.
Interest in offshore wind along the East Coast is rippling south from Rhode Island and New Jersey. The governors of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina announced last week that they plan to work together to advance the deployment of wind projects off their shores and develop new supply chains for the industry.
Of the three states, only Virginia is currently getting power from offshore wind via one small demonstration project with two turbines generating 12 megawatts, enough to power 3,000 homes at peak output. But in June, Virginia passed a law mandating that it produce 5,200 megawatts from offshore wind by 2034. In Maryland, the public service commission has approved renewable energy credits for two major offshore wind projects totalling about 370 megawatts, and the state is targeting 1.2 gigawatts by 2030.
North Carolina doesn’t currently have offshore wind targets or any projects under development, but the state has issued a request for proposals to study the state’s ports and manufacturing supply chain. The state may face an obstacle in getting turbines in the water, however. A recent executive order from President Trump bans any energy development off its coast for 10 years beginning in 2022.
Through the new partnership, the states aim to promote the region as a hub for offshore wind and collaborate on regulatory strategy to reduce administrative burdens and create more certainty for developers.
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