The industry has built incredible momentum, creating thousands of jobs, leading to nearly 1,700 supplier contracts, driving local economic growth, and garnering over $40 billion in investment, including $25 billion in a supply chain spanning 39 states that is revitalizing American industries like ports, marine manufacturing, and more. As our nation’s demand for energy continues to rise, offshore wind offers a solution that’s already bringing new life to American manufacturing and shipbuilding, new business to the country’s ports, and well-paying jobs from coast to coast.
STRONG FOUNDATIONS
The seeds of this progress were sown in the first Trump administration, which began implementing the fundamental framework for our modern offshore wind industry. His administration conducted two federal lease sales, actions that inspired the first wave of investments in supply chain facilities and gave encouragement to companies to pivot operations towards the offshore wind industry. Reversing course, at this point, only means fewer American steel and shipbuilding jobs, and less dollars invested in local communities that have made the US offshore wind industry the economic powerhouse it is today.
There is a vast number of opportunities in the offshore wind industry for companies across the US. Already, the nation’s ports and shipyards are seeing a flurry of new business supporting the offshore wind projects, and states continue to invest in the power infrastructure needed to support more energy production. Additional offshore wind projects will deliver even more of this economic activity to American businesses.
INTERGRATED APPROACH
Meeting the energy needs of our immediate future requires an all-of-the-above energy approach, and we owe it to Americans to ensure those needs are met by tapping the vast energy reserves of our world’s oceans. The US is trailing Europe when it comes to energy provided by traditional, fixed-bottom offshore wind farms. However, with our first fixed-bottom projects already in the water, we’re catching up and can leverage that experience to advance new and innovative ocean renewable technology. The US has the opportunity to become a global leader in floating offshore wind, a high-demand but still nascent technology, which promises to open up access to far more of our oceans to provide American-made energy to our homes and businesses.
While offshore solar, tidal and wave technologies are still in the early stages, great potential exists for the co-location of these types of projects with offshore wind turbines, or even offshore oil and gas projects. Integrating these new sources into America’s energy infrastructure, working in tandem where possible, will deliver economic growth and energy independence while ensuring rising electricity demand is met.
This feature appeared in ON&T Magazine’s 2025 Special Edition, The Future of Ocean Technology, Vol. 5, to read more access the magazine here.
