A new study finds that Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offshore wind area lease auctions over the next two-and-a-half years could initially pump $1.7 billion into the U.S. Treasury while potentially creating 80,000 jobs and $166 billion in capital investment through 2035.

“We’re talking about five lease areas, offshore New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, California and Maine, and these areas could unlock tremendous energy and economic potential,” Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), said at a press conference Tuesday.

NOIA commissioned the study by research group Wood Mackenzie with three other groups: the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the New York Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA) and the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) at the University of Delaware.

“From the NOIA perspective … there is a very strong synergy between offshore oil and gas and offshore wind … and the same shipbuilders, heavy lift vessel operators, steel fabricators and other companies who built the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas business stand ready to lend their expertise to the American offshore wind industry,” Milito said.

Feng Zhang, managing consultant for Wood Mackenzie’s power and renewables division, said the study mainly looked at areas from the New York Bight and south, plus California, but that interest was also “very high” in possible call areas in the Gulf of Maine.

“From the study, we found that if the relevant policy can be put in place, if BOEM and other industry parties can act very quickly, then potentially 2 million acres of federal waters in those areas can go to auction as soon as 2021 and 2022,” Zhang said.

Jump Starter

Additionally, the findings indicate that new offshore wind leases could be a short-term way to jump-start recovery from the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Zhang noted.

The study found that investment in the country’s offshore wind industry will total $17 billion by 2025, $108 billion by 2030 and $166 billion by 2035.

“From 2022 to 2035, capital investment of $42 billion will go to turbine manufacturers and the supply chain, $107 billion will go to the construction industry and $8 billion will go to the transportation industry and ports. Annual capital investment for operations and maintenance activities will increase to $2.4 billion in 2035,” the study said.

Long-term, new OSW projects will provide 28 GW of new clean energy resources to power 20 million households and support 20,500 jobs annually for decades beyond 2035, the study found.

The other study sponsors issued statements lauding the economic and environmental benefits of OSW development.

“States along the eastern and western seashores have a massive domestic clean energy resource and many states have set ambitious offshore wind goals to reap the economic and environmental benefits that offshore wind offers but cannot achieve those goals with existing leases,” said NYOWA Director Joe Martens. “It’s time for the federal government to act with the same urgency as the states.”

“We’re on the cusp of a rare opportunity, but the U.S. remains far behind other countries in harnessing offshore wind technology,” said Laura Morton, AWEA senior director of offshore wind. “It’s time for us to unleash this abundant domestic energy source that will deliver tens of thousands of new jobs, revitalize coastal ports and expand manufacturing opportunities to reap major economic and environmental benefits.”

“Offshore wind development can be a major part of the solution to our country’s most pressing energy needs and our country’s most immediate economic woes,” said Nancy Sopko, executive director of SIOW. “Unleashing the potential of offshore wind power through immediate and consistent auctioning of new lease areas can help the United States rebound from the greatest economic downturn in our nation’s history.”