U.S. Offshore Wind Industry Has Electrifying Future
Offshore wind holds great promise as a source of clean, domestic, renewable energy that can meet the needs of communities along the nation’s coastlines. And — according to the Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — the U.S. offshore wind industry made gale-force gains in 2020 and early 2021. The offshore wind pipeline grew 24% in that time period, with 35,324 megawatts (MW) now in various stages of development.
And that is not all. Increased industry interest, combined with the Biden administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2030, may propel the offshore wind energy industry to greater heights in the coming years.
Released on Aug. 30, 2021, the report highlighted that:
- The U.S. offshore wind pipeline includes two operating projects: the 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island and the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project. The 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project near Massachusetts became the first fully approved, commercial, offshore wind energy project in the United States, receiving all permits, an offtake contract to sell the power it generates, and an interconnection agreement to deliver that electricity to the grid.
- Fifteen projects in the offshore wind energy pipeline have reached the permitting phase, 16 commercial leases in federal waters have gained exclusive site control, and seven wind energy areas can now be leased at the discretion of the federal government. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which regulates energy development in federal waters, has also designated nine Call Areas — areas being considered for future offshore wind energy development.
- The Biden administration’s target of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 is the United States’ first national offshore wind energy goal. Alongside this national-level goal, states are aiming to procure at least 39,298 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2040. The U.S. offshore wind energy industry made additional supply chain and infrastructure investments over the past year, like the first U.S.-flagged offshore wind turbine installation vessel, which began construction in Brownsville, Texas, in 2020.
- Technology trends indicate growing turbine sizes, which is one of the main drivers behind lower offshore wind energy costs. Three leading turbine manufacturers — Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, and General Electric — have announced the development of larger offshore wind turbines ranging from 12 to 15 MW. These manufacturers have reported their intention to make wind turbines at these nameplate ratings available for purchase by 2024 or sooner, and U.S. orders indicate that most projects in the current pipeline will obtain wind turbines from one of these manufacturers.
- Governments, energy companies, and end users are increasingly looking at offshore wind as a power source to produce green hydrogen, which can be used in other sectors of the economy — like transportation, heating, industry, grid storage — as a zero-emission fuel.
“This report shows that the offshore wind market is on an upward curve, both nationally and globally,” said Walt Musial, an NREL principal engineer and the lead report author. “Maturing technology and falling costs have driven that curve for several years, and today, we’re seeing a continuation of those trends. Here, in the United States, federal and state support are also adding momentum.”
NREL and DOE began working in offshore wind energy research in 2003 to address the growing interest in offshore wind power technology and innovation, both domestically and in Europe. Since then, NREL’s work in offshore wind energy has included:
- Developing concepts to accelerate technological advancement
- Working with DOE and BOEM (and previously the Minerals Management Service) to evaluate possible sites and technologies that can be deployed in the United States
- Working with industry members to create partnerships and relationships that could lead to commercial systems and projects
- Creating open-source engineering tools and standards for offshore wind turbine designs
- Developing economic models and analyses that demonstrate potential for cost reduction and lower uncertainty of offshore wind costs
- Conducting resource assessments that have validated offshore wind power as a potentially major contributor to the electric grid
- Providing analyses that inform understanding of future offshore wind technologies
- Designing technical training for BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement staff
- Modeling national and regional grid systems to help electric utilities understand the impacts of offshore wind energy when integrated with the electrical grid.
“Looking to the future, we expect offshore wind energy in the United States to expand beyond the North and Mid-Atlantic into the Pacific, Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico,” Musial said. “That expansion means abundant energy at lower costs, job growth, and progress toward decarbonization. NREL will continue to leverage its expertise, world-class facilities, and industry, research, and commercial partnerships to help the United States lead the charge forward.”
The Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition provides detailed information about the U.S. and global offshore wind energy industries to inform policymakers, researchers, and analysts about technology and market trends. The report covers the status of more than 200 globally operating offshore wind projects through Dec. 31, 2020, and provides details and analysis on a broader global pipeline of projects in various stages of development. To deliver the most up-to-date discussion about this evolving industry, the report also provides a deeper assessment of domestic offshore wind energy developments and events through May 31, 2021.
The report is a companion to the Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Distributed Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These three reports offer unbiased, independent, public reporting of the current state of the wind energy industry and provide insight into multiyear trends.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:
Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Full Report
Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Executive Summary
Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Summary Slides
Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition Data
Article courtesy of NREL.
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Environment
Shares of Paccar – Peterbilt and Kenworth owner – soar after Trump’s heavy truck tariffs
A Peterbilt 579 truck equipped with Aurora’s self-driving system is seen at the company’s terminal in Palmer, south of Dallas, Texas, September 23, 2021.
Tina Bellon | Reuters
Shares of Paccar jumped Friday after President Donald Trump announced that he will impose a 25% tariff on imported heavy trucks beginning Oct. 1.
Paccar was last up more than 6% premarket.
Trump said in a social media post Thursday that “large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions.”
PCAR 5-day chart
Paccar is the owner of Peterbilt and Kenworth. It manufactures more than 90% of its U.S. trucks domestically but they cost $8,000 to $10,000 more than competitors in Mexico, Bank of America told clients in a Friday note.
Trump’s announcement “likely addresses this issue and places PCAR in the driver seat,” BofA analyst Michael Feniger said.
British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Five months ago, British energy major BP was firmly in the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Now, not so much.
Shares of the London-listed oil giant have climbed more than 32% since early April, outperforming many of its U.S. and European rivals.
The improving sentiment can be attributed to a range of factors, including BP’s fundamental strategic reset, a leadership shake-up, progress on its cost-cutting program and a string of recent oil discoveries.
It marks a stark contrast to earlier in the year, when BP found itself to be the subject of intense takeover speculation, with British rival Shell, UAE oil giant ADNOC and U.S. majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron all among the names touted as possible suitors.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss insisted the company was focused on growth when asked about any approaches, saying last month: “That’s what is going to drive the share price up for shareholders.”
Shell, for its part, swiftly denied reports in late June that early-stage talks were taking place to acquire BP. The company said at the time that it had “no intention” of making a blockbuster offer for its embattled rival.
Allen Good, equity analyst at Morningstar, said he was unsure of the merit of the takeover speculation from the outset, even while the company was in turmoil and trading at a steep discount to its peers.
“Shares have since done better,” Good told CNBC. “And I think probably the most recent catalyst was the selection of the new chair, who is coming from CRH and has previous experience with meaningful turnarounds and being successful.”
Shares of BP since April 11.
Following a green strategy U-turn earlier in the year, BP announced in July the appointment of Albert Manifold as its new chairman. The former boss of building materials producer CRH has since joined the firm’s board and will formally become chair from Oct. 1.
A BP spokesperson was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.
Oil discoveries and Elliott’s arrival
BP’s share price gain has coincided with some notable rating and price target upgrades. Berenberg, for instance, recently upgraded BP to buy from hold and raised its price target to £5.00 ($6.73), from £3.85, citing the firm’s significantly stronger second-quarter results.
In early August, BP reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.35 billion for the three months through June — comfortably beating analyst expectations of $1.81 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” shortly after these results, BP’s Auchincloss highlighted the growth potential of the company’s recent oil and gas discoveries, adding that he was “very optimistic” about the discovery in the Bumerangue block in Brazil’s Santos Basin, just over 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) from Rio de Janeiro.
The discovery marked the firm’s 10th since the start of the year and is regarded as a potentially significant boost as BP continues to double down on hydrocarbons.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said BP’s resilience in the face of skepticism “is interesting and can be a telling sign,” particularly as the share price rise comes despite what he described as “relentlessly negative commentary” on both the company and the oil price.
“Elliott’s arrival on the share register remains a factor, too, as the activist presses for disposals, improved cash flow, deleveraging and improved cash returns to shareholders, a clarion call to which BP appears to be listening,” Mould told CNBC by email.
Activist investor Elliott went public with a stake of more than 5% in BP in late April, bolstering expectations that its involvement could pressure the company to shift back toward its core oil and gas businesses.
A fuel pump is seen connected to a car at a gas station in Krakow, Poland on June 19, 2025.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Given Shell’s reported interest in a takeover appears to have cooled, Mould said BP’s best defense to any potential suitors would be a higher share price and an improved valuation.
“Valuation, or the price paid, is the ultimate arbiter of investment return and the more they have to stump up, the less likely predators are to appear, as higher valuations limit upside potential and increase downside risks should anything unexpected go wrong,” Mould said.
Debt burden
Looking ahead, energy analysts singled out BP’s relatively high debt burden as a potential cause for concern, however.
BP’s net debt came in at $26.04 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from nearly $27 billion in the first three months of the year.
“If you get a situation where oil prices start falling, then they are certainly the most exposed in the peer group,” Morningstar’s Good said. “So, that would be something that could derail this momentum.”
Government researchers in the US and abroad believe we could help decarbonize and electrify the transportation sector with hardy, fast-growing plants that collect the metals needed to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in their roots, then harvest those metals later with a process that’s cleaner and cheaper than traditional mineral mining.
Nickel is just one example of a critical element in the production of modern EV batteries, but mining it is messy, expensive, and destructive. It used to be, anyway – a new French biotech startup says it has a better idea: extracting nickel from daisies.
Getting nickel and other useful metals from plants is made possible through a process called phytomining. But, as you’ve probably guessed, everyday plants don’t collect enough of these metals to make the extraction commercially viable. That’s where a French biotech startup called “Genomines” comes in.
Genomine’s relies on biologically engineered plants it calls “hyperaccumulators.” These plants naturally pull metals and minerals out from the soil they’re planted in through their roots, and store it in their stems and leaves, where Genomine can harvest it later.
“It’s important because we need a lot of metal, especially for the energy transition in batteries in electric vehicles,” Fabien Koutchekian, co-founder and CEO of Genomines, told Fast Company. “Not only in batteries, but [nickel is] widely used in stainless steel as part of infrastructure. The problem is that with current traditional mining methods, we will not be able to produce enough.”
Genomines predicts that hitting the 2040 goals set out by the Paris Agreement to transition all the world’s cars to electric vehicles will require six (6) times today’s global metal output and a significant number of new, potentially destructive mining operations.
That’s bad.
More farms, fewer mines
Not only are mining operations generally destructive, they often accompany (if not cause) a number of human rights issues as they get to work. “Indigenous Peoples and rural communities are paying a heavy price for the world’s scramble for energy transition minerals,” explains Veronica Cabe, Chair of Amnesty International, Philippines. “Not only did these communities undergo seriously flawed consultation processes – blighted by misrepresentations and a lack of information – they are now being forced to endure the negative impacts of these mining operations on their health, livelihoods and access to clean water.”
Genomines thinks its high-performance custom daisies could avoid this sort of environmental and cultural harm. They’ve convinced investors of that, too, to the tune of more than $45 million from a group that includes Hyundai and Jaguar and Land Rover parent company Tata.
“Our mission is to harness plant biotechnology to extract resources essential for clean energy technology via scalable processes that preserve biodiversity, soil health and human well-being,” explains Koutchekian. “Our vision is to create an entirely new industry of plant-based metals. Genomines unlocks a scalable new resource base – we can fundamentally rebalance global mineral supply chains for decades to come.”
Genomines says its methods are not only scalable, but offer a number of additional benefits over conventional mineral mining:
- Transformation of non-productive land into economic assets, operating in areas that are too low-grade to mine traditionally, but too metal rich to farm
- Quickly deployable farms, operationalizing an asset in 1-2 years versus 12-17 years for traditional nickel mines
- Cleaner more traceable extraction, while maintaining 40-50% lower equipment and operational costs as a result of biomass farming
- Scalable modularly, deploying smaller, capital-efficient assets at profitable rates, rather than relying on the large, capex-intensive mines of traditional industry
- Superior sustainability, the hyperaccumulator plants capture carbon as they grow, making the entire process not just carbon neutral, but potentially carbon negative
“Genomines’ technology leverages underutilized assets by extracting nickel from low-concentration soils that don’t compete with traditional agriculture. Coupled with a structural cost advantage, Genomines is well equipped to fundamentally change the way we extract critical metals, and do it in a significantly more sustainable manner,” says Alex Hoffmann, General Partner at VC firm Forbion and Genomines investor. “We are excited to be part of the journey and support the team to achieve its ambitious targets.”
Genomines estimates that about 30 to 40 million hectares of land across the globe contain enough nickel for their phytomining processes to prove enough nickel for the world’s EV needs, at 7-14 times the amount currently being mined. While it’s got a long way to go, the company currently employs 23 full time staff that are making real progress at their South African site, with many more soon to come.
That’s good.
SOURCES: Genomines; via Business Insider, Good Good Good, SingularityHub.
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