July 9, 2024

Cancellations reduce expected U.S. capacity of offshore wind facilities

---

The amount of offshore wind generating capacity that is under construction or planned in the United States is in flux after two projects in New Jersey were canceled last year. Of the 7,200 megawatts (MW) of capacity reported in May in EIA’s latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, projects totaling about 2,400 MW have been canceled since last December while others totaling 4,800 MW remain active in various stages of development.

Canceled
In late 2023, developer Orsted canceled the 2,400-MW Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects in New Jersey, citing rising interest rates, high inflation, and supply chain delays.

Under construction
One offshore wind project is currently under construction, and another is awaiting commercial operation. Both projects are expected to begin operation in 2024. The 130-MW South Fork Wind project is awaiting commercial operation. It consists of 12 turbines located off the coast of Long Island, New York. The project began generating electricity in March but has yet to reach commercial operation, a stage when an operator formally declares a generating unit as on line and available for commercial dispatch. It is not unusual for electric generators to produce energy while they conduct tests for weeks or months ahead of the facility being placed into commercial operation.

The project under construction is the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project located offshore of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and it is partially built. Of the 62 turbines, 10 were in place as of this past February according to the project’s co-owner Avangrid. The complete project is expected to be on line by this fall.

Planned and going forward
Other projects are in various stages of planning and development.

Two projects have started building foundations to support offshore wind turbines. This past spring, developers Orsted and Eversource started building the vertical cylinders known as monopiles to support wind turbines at the 704-MW Revolution Wind project located offshore of Rhode Island. In May, Dominion Energy built the first monopile at the 1,265-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) Commercial Project. The CVOW Commercial Project follows a 12-MW pilot that Dominion brought on line in 2021.

Although these projects have started foundational work, Revolution Wind and CVOW Commercial Project still show as pending regulatory approvals and not yet in construction because generators have latitude to decide when to label a project as in construction. In the Form 860M, some generators label a project as in construction when they start building components, but other generators can wait until the construction process is further along. Revolution Wind is expected on line in the fall of 2025, while Dominion Energy plans to start CVOW in early 2027.

The 924-MW Sunrise Wind project is one of two active projects that New York State awarded in February, and developers Orsted and Eversource expect to bring it on line in 2026. Equinor has yet to report to EIA the second active project, the 810-MW Empire Wind 1, as a planned project.

Planned and scaled down or on hold
Other projects in Maryland and Ohio, which developers still report as active, have faced some setbacks.

In January, Orsted withdrew from commitments to the Maryland Public Service Commission to build the Skipjack 1 and 2 projects, totaling 966 MW, but is still continuing with advanced development and permitting.

Late last year, the developer of the 20-MW Icebreaker Wind project on the Ohio coast of Lake Erie halted the project amid rising costs and loss of funding.

Principal contributor: Stephanie Tsao