Industry | Renewable energy |
---|---|
Founded | 2011 |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | East Coast of the United States |
Products | Offshore wind power |
Owner | Renexia SpA |
Parent | Toto Holdings |
Website | US Wind |
US Wind is an offshore wind energy development company founded in 2011 that is a subsidiary of Italy-based Renexia SpA, part of Toto Holdings. It is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. [1] Since 2014, it has been involved in one of the largest offshore wind farm projects in the United States.
In 2014 US Wind won the auction for a 25-year leases for both Wind Energy Areas (WEA) in Maryland established by the BOEM with a bid of $8.7 million; OCS-A 0489 (Momentum Wind) was later merged into OCS-A 0490 (MarWin). [2] [3] [4] Development of their project was hindered by the uncertainty of government direction since the state legislature and local governments are considering banning certain areas and increasing the distance from the shoreline for wind turbines. [5] As of the summer of 2016 US Wind had completed underwater surveys of the potential sites about a dozen miles off the coast of Maryland and was submitting plans for environmental review by year end. [6] The project had gained initial approval in 2017 and was reviewed in 2019 when a change in turbine heights was introduced. [7] Studies of the site were begun in April 2021. [8]
The company had also acquired a lease for the New Jersey WEA North, which it later sold. [9] [10] It also pursuing WEA leases in South Carolina. [11]
US Wind has committed to the development of a wind port and steel factory at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point, Maryland. [12]
Both phases were approved by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in September 2024. [13] Onshore construction may begin in 2025 after remaining state permits are received. [14]
Wind farm | Offshore BOEM wind energy lease area | Coordinates | Capacity (MW) | Developer/Utility | Turbines | States | Regulatory agency | Refs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MarWin | Offshore Maryland OCS-A 0490 [2] | 17 nautical miles -20 miles (32 km) east of Ocean City (MD) | 79,707 acres (32,256 ha) | 248 | US Wind | 22 | MD | Maryland PSC | [15] [16] [17] [7] [18] [19] | |
Momentum Wind | 1200 | 82 | [20] [21] [22] |
In 2021 France reached a total of 18,676 megawatts (MW) installed wind power capacity placing France at that time as the world's seventh largest wind power nation by installed capacity, behind the United Kingdom and Brazil and ahead of Canada and Italy. According to the IEA the yearly wind production was 20.2 TWh in 2015, representing almost 23% of the 88.4 TWh from renewable sources in France during that year. Wind provided 4.3% of the country's electricity demand in 2015.
New York has 2,192 MW of installed wind power capacity as of 2022. Most of New York's wind power is located in upstate New York as onshore wind farms. New York has set a goal of developing 9,000 MW of offshore installed wind power capacity by 2035 that will power an estimated 6 million homes. As of October 2022, New York has five offshore wind farms in development with approximately 4,300 MW installed capacity.
Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind is an offshore wind energy development group that is affiliated with Ørsted, a Danish firm. It is joint headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2019, it was involved in some of the largest offshore wind farm projects in the United States.
The U.S. state of Massachusetts has vast wind energy resources offshore, as well as significant resources onshore. The 2016 update to the states's Clean Energy and Climate Plan had a goal of reducing 1990 baseline greenhouse gas emissions levels by 25% by 2020. Current goals include installing 3,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power in the state by 2035. However, as of Q4 2021 the state had only 120 MW of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for generating 0.9% of in-state electricity production. The state has awarded contracts to two offshore projects, the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project and 804 MW Mayflower Wind project. Construction began on the Vineyard Wind 1 project on November 18, 2021, after a long fight for approval. Commonwealth Wind was selected for development in 2021, but the developer has attempted to cancel the project due to increased costs. There are eight projects planned for off the southern coast of Massachusetts, though some will deliver power to Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.
Nordsee-Ost offshore wind farm is an offshore wind farm in operation in the eastern part of the North Sea German sector. The project was developed by RWE Innogy, a subsidiary of RWE.
Wind power in New Jersey is in the early stages of development. New Jersey has just six wind turbines, all land based, but the state has plans to develop several major offshore wind projects on the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern Jersey Shore. Legislation has been enacted to support the industry through economic incentives and to permit wind turbines on existing piers.
The potential of on-shore wind power in Delaware is minimal, having a potential of generating at most 22 GWh/year. Delaware's principal wind potential is from offshore wind. A 2012 assessment estimates that 15,038 MW of offshore wind turbines could generate 60,654 GWh/year. Delaware generated 11,522 GWh from all generating sources in 2011.
Wind power in Maryland, which has land-based and offshore resources, is in the early stages of development. As of 2016, Maryland has 191 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for 1.4% of in-state generated electricity. Two offshore wind farm projects that will supply wind-generated power to the state are underway.
Wind power in North Carolina is found along the coastal areas in the east and mountain regions in the western part of the state. The state has significant offshore wind resources. In 2015, small scale wind turbine projects were found throughout the state. In 2016, North Carolina's first large scale wind project, and the first in the southeastern U.S., was completed near Elizabeth City.
Kriegers Flak is a 605 MW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea on the Danish part of the reef of the same name. It forms part of a new 400 MW interconnector between Denmark and Germany.
Ocean Wind was a proposed utility-scale 2,248 MW offshore wind farm to be located on the Outer Continental Shelf approximately 15 miles (24 km) off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was being developed by Ørsted US Offshore Wind in conjunction with Public Service Enterprise Group (PSE&G). Construction and commissioning were planned for the mid-2020s. The closed Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and B.L. England Generating Station would provide transmission points for energy generated by the wind farm.
Skipjack is a 966 MW capacity off shore wind farm, proposed by Ørsted US Offshore Wind to be built on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Delaware, approximately 16.9 nautical miles from the coast opposite Fenwick Island. It was originally projected that the project, which will provide power to Maryland, would be commissioned in 2022, It is one of the wind farm projects providing wind power to Maryland, the others being MarWin and Momentum Wind.
South Fork Wind Farm is a utility-scale offshore wind farm on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Rhode Island, providing energy to New York state.
Vineyard Wind 1 is an offshore wind farm under construction in U.S. federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management-designated Lease Area OCS-A 0520, about 13 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. The array is designed to include 62 Haliade-X wind turbines manufactured by GE Offshore Wind with a nameplate capacity of 804 MW combined, equivalent to the annual power use of 400,000 homes. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved the project in 2019. Construction began on November 18, 2021. In October 2023, the first turbine was installed. Power from the first turbine started flowing into the ISO New England grid on January 2, 2024. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is an offshore wind energy project located about 43 km (27 mi) off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. The initial phase, a two-turbine, 12-MW pilot project constructed in 2020, is the second utility scale offshore wind farm operating in the United States. Dominion Energy and Ørsted US Offshore Wind collaborated on the project, which is estimated to have cost $300 million and is expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 3,000 homes. It is the first utility scale wind farm serving Virginia and the first built in U.S. federal waters, in a wind lease area that covers about 2,135 acres.
Empire Wind is a proposed utility-scale offshore wind farm on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore New York. It will be located in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease area OCS-A 0512 in the New York Bight about 15 miles (24 km) south of Jones Beach, Long Island.
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