The Interior Department approved a large wind project off the coast of Maryland on Thursday, marking a midway milestone in President Joe Biden’s plan to boost offshore wind power in U.S. waters.
It’s a significant moment for an industry that’s grown considerably in recent years but faced serious financial challenges, particularly increasing costs for materials and a practically nonexistent domestic supply chain of businesses to build wind projects.
“When I came into office, the United States had zero approved offshore wind projects in federal waters, and the industry was struggling to gain a foothold,” Biden said in a statement Thursday. “But now, following my Administration’s investments in our clean energy future, the private sector has mobilized, and the federal government has approved ten offshore wind projects.”
If built, the approved wind projects could produce a combined 15 gigawatts of electricity and power roughly 5 million homes. Capturing Biden’s larger goal of 30 GW generated from offshore wind by 2030 could drive $12 billion in capital investment annually and avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, according to the Interior Department.
