ACPA Sees $65 Billion in Spending on Offshore Wind Projects by 2030

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) recently released its 2024 Offshore Wind Market Report, showing the clean power industry is projected to invest $65 billion in offshore wind projects by 2030, which it says will support 56,000 jobs in the United States. There are currently 12 gigawatts (GW) of projects with active offtake agreements, including 4GW under active construction at Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.
The ACP press release said that across 37 leases in the U.S., 56GW (56,363MW) of capacity is now  under development — enough electricity to power the equivalent of 22 million homes. Market analysts forecast that there will be 14GW of offshore wind deployed by 2030, 30GW by 2033, and 40GW online by 2035. These outlooks build on the 7.6GW of offshore wind projects seeking to be operational by the end of 2027.
“After the successful start-up of the 132MW South Fork wind farm earlier this year, and with 136MW operational at Vineyard Wind, offshore wind is gaining momentum with three projects under construction and 37 more in development,” said ACP Chief Policy Officer Frank Macchiarola in the press release. 
The new report also highlights the economic impact of offshore wind farms on domestic U.S. shipbuilding, port infrastructure, and other supply chain activities. There are more than 40 new vessels currently on order or under construction to support the wind industry. Investments include 28 Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV), seven Service Operation Vessels (SOV), two different types of installation vessels and two tugs and two barges to support offshore wind operations and maintenance (see Electrical Marketing’s June 28 issue). The wind industry committed a record $3 billion of supply chain investment in 2023 alone, with total infrastructure investment announcements now exceeding $9 billion.