We all thought that the Californian offshore wind leases had very deep water. Now, the US East Coast has draft Wind Energy Areas more than 2 kilometers deep.

Will USA become a global leader in ultra deep floating offshore wind?

California offshore wind leases will be the first test of deep water floating wind…

On December 6th, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will auction off five lease areas in California. At 700-1100 meters, the Californian lease areas are considered very deep and represent a new challenge for the nascent floating wind technology, which has so far only been tested at maximum depths of around 200 meters.

…but Central Atlantic will be the true test

However deep the California leases are, they pale in comparison to the depths in BOEM’s newly announced draft Wind Energy Areas in the Central Atlantic area.

At depths of 2-2.5 kilometers, the Atlantic Wind Energy Areas may cause the floating wind industry to completely recalibrate its expectations for itself – and work hard to commercialize ultra deep floating wind faster than most had thought realistic. The auction for Central Atlantic offshore wind areas is planned to take place during 2023.

New Aegir Insights market report covering the Atlantic US

How do the new, ultra deep-water Wind Energy Areas figure into the landscape of floating wind evolving in the US?

Aegir Insights recently published a comprehensive overview of upcoming offshore wind areas on the US East Coast to our subscribers, including reference cases showing relative LCoE levels in floating offshore wind areas in Central Atlantic and the Gulf of Maine.

Please reach out to learn more about Aegir Insights’ offshore wind intelligence service, or to schedule a walk-through of our recent insights if you are a subscriber.