Offshore Wind Energy: The Next Frontier

January 9, 2018

The offshore wind industry in the U.S. has taken tremendous strides over the course of the last few years. America’s first offshore wind farm’s (Deeper Wind’s 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm) turbines were set in motion off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016 and a multitude of new farms are on the way.

Individual states have recognized the potential in the offshore wind energy market and have begun the revolutionary push towards these water-bound turbines. New York has plans laid out to produce a whopping 2.4 gigawatts of production capacity by 2030 and Massachusetts recently mandated that there must be 1.6 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2027.

Why Offshore Wind?

Dropping Cost:

The catalyst of this recent surge in offshore wind farms:  tremendous drops in infrastructural cost. With massive increases in technology, offshore wind farms have become increasingly affordable, making the profit margins larger and the investment hard to turn down.

Tremendous Potential:

Ever since the concept of offshore wind was introduced in Denmark, the industry has taken off. In February of 2017, Denmark’s wind-energy production reached an unprecedented 97-gigawatt-hours of wind energy – enough to power the entire country. This tremendous accomplishment has laid the groundwork for the future of American energy production and investors have started to catch on.

Changes in Government Policy:

In December of 2017, Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, announced that the Department of Energy will allocate 18.5 million in funding as well as the elimination of market barriers to assist in the research and development of offshore wind. This funding package is indicative of a major shift in the attitude of policymakers who historically have opposed offshore wind energy production.

The reason for this sudden turn in U.S. government policy is the most recent estimates in regard to potential production. The Energy Department now estimates that at maximum capacity, offshore wind can produce more energy than the combined capacity of all U.S. electric power plants.

Conclusion:

The offshore wind energy market is locked and loaded, ready to fire. With such massive amounts of resources going into improvement in turbine technology and an unprecedented influx of investment in water-bound turbines, it is only a matter of time until offshore wind becomes a major component of the United States energy sector.

Scale Funding is prepared to assist in the financing of this revolutionary energy movement. If your company is being held back by slow cash flow, or if you need money to meet those daily expenses, call Scale Funding at (800) 707-4845, or contact us via the web for a free, no-obligation factoring consultation and quote.