Louisiana trailblazes with the US’s first state-water offshore wind farms

Louisiana is making US history by launching its first two offshore wind farms, Cajun Wind and Diamond Offshore Wind, in state waters.

Vestas, through its North American arm Steelhead Americas, has announced Cajun Wind, marking a significant milestone as the state’s first wind operating agreement and a first in US state waters.

Governor John Bel Edwards (D-LA) and Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources have also approved another pioneering project with Mitsubishi-owned Diamond Offshore Wind, reflecting the oil-and-gas-producing state’s evolving leadership in clean energy production.

“For generations, the state of Louisiana has been a leader in energy production, and offshore wind energy is the next chapter in that great history as we expand our options for clean energy production and open new avenues for the development of our state economy,” said Edwards.

The Cajun Wind project spans 59,653 acres off Cameron Parish. Concurrently, Diamond Offshore Wind encompasses a 6,162-acre site near Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. The projects will leverage Louisiana’s existing offshore infrastructure and industry expertise, boosting the local economy and job market – a big selling point for state legislators. It also has an existing coastal port and supply chain infrastructure. It’s too soon for details of the wind farms’ power potential and size, but I’ll report back when we find out more.

The state of Louisiana has set a goal to install 5 GW of offshore wind by 2035.

Read more: The first US offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico was a dud

Photo: Vestas

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