AWC Riding Literal Winds of Change
A recent gathering of professionals and scientists who form the offshore wind industry met in Baltimore discussing the current state of the industry and the future of energy development. In good news, it appears the industry is currently in a state of growth and will continue to do so for some time. In terms of development, construction, and investment, there has been a good deal of activity over the last year. The frontrunners in the campaign to continue on are the Atlantic Wind Connection, an innovative group whose offshore transmission project has accelerated and facilitated large-scale development of offshore wind. A new partnership between composite/blade supplier AC Wind and the University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials aims to make AC Wind’s planned Salisbury, Md., plant one of the largest composite facilities in the world, capable of manufacturing large-scale offshore wind turbine blades up to 100 meters. Other projects, such as the Cape Wind offshore project in Delaware are suffering setbacks because of issues with financing, litigation, and power price woes. Finally, a new study from Pike Research suggests that global investment in offshore wind power will surge in the next few years. According to the report, revenue from offshore wind power production will reach $104 billion by 2017, representing more than 53% growth. Under a more aggressive scenario, offshore wind power revenues could reach $130.5 billion. This could have a drastic effect on future energy law .