North Carolina Sets Big Goal for Offshore Wind

By Josh Saul (Bloomberg) —

North Carolina set an ambitious goal to develop enough wind power generation to provide electricity for 2.3 million homes by 2040.

The state aims for developers to install 2.8 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030 and another 8 gigawatts by 2040, according to a statement from Governor Roy Cooper’s office.

The entire U.S. currently only has two commercial wind farms with a total capacity of 42 megawatts, but President Joe Biden has set a goal of 30 gigawatts by 2030, and in May his administration approved the first big offshore wind farm in the U.S. Offshore wind, and clean power in general, is a crucial piece of the global push to cut carbon emissions and avoid the worst effects of climate change.

The executive order Cooper signed creates an offshore-wind task force and directs several state departments to name clean energy or offshore wind coordinators and to take steps to support the energy source. The order doesn’t set interim targets or any penalties for failure to reach those goals.

“This coordinated approach to developing our offshore wind supply chain will bring new jobs to North Carolina for generations to come,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “From building out the supply chain, to installing equipment, to operating the wind facilities, North Carolina’s manufacturers and workforce are well positioned to play an integral role in the entire East Coast market, not just for projects directly off the state’s coast.”

–With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.

© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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