New Bedford Wind Energy Center today (12 May) published an article on the status of offshore wind energy in the United States, saying that the administration of President Donald Trump, who advocated oil and gas exploration and resurrection of the coal industry throughout the presidential election process, is not likely to stop the growth of the offshore wind industry in the U.S.
Many states have passed legislation or stated goals that would require they meet renewable energy objectives, which outwardly would seem to place them at odds with the Trump energy agenda, New Bedford WEC says. However, sharp declines in the cost of offshore wind in Europe, tens of thousand of new clean energy jobs, and the move toward renewables by U.S. energy producers may prove to be powerful change agents within the Trump administration.
The WEC further pointed to the federal Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) continuing to hold lease auctions for for potential offshore wind farms along the East Coast from North Carolina to New England.
Further, New Bedford WEC highlighted the study recently issued by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which estimated the economic potential of some 7,000 potential sites for offshore wind in the U.S.
“And here in New Bedford, we will be right at the center of a new, clean-energy industry that the Trump administration ought to love — if only for the 34,000 jobs it is expected to create over the next 30 years,” New Bedford WEC said.