ABSTRACT
U.S. offshore wind resources may also prove to be a signifi cant contribution to increasing the supply of renewable, low-carbon electricity. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that offshore wind resources can be as high as four times the 2010 U.S. electricity generating capacity (Schwartz, Heimiller, Haymes, & Musial, 2010). Although this estimate does not take into account siting, stakeholder, and regulatory constraints, it indicates that U.S. offshore wind resources are signifi cant. No offshore wind projects have been developed in the United States, but there are 10 offshore wind projects in the planning process, with an estimated capacity of 2.8 GW (Wiser & Bolinger, 2013) and more proposed (OffshoreWind. net, 2012). The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2008 report, 20% Wind by 2030 , envisions 54 GW of shallow offshore wind capacity to optimize delivered generation and transmission costs (U.S. DOE, 2008).
