Here’s why the US race to deploy floating offshore wind is vital
The US has a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 – and that can’t happen without floating offshore wind farms.
The Departments of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, and Transportation are today on their second day of a two-day Floating Offshore Wind Shot Summit. The summit’s goal, which is being attended by federal and state government leaders, and industry and labor leaders, is to cut the cost of floating offshore wind energy by over 70% by 2035.
MIT Technology Review noted in December:
Estimates are tricky because the technology is so new, but the US Department of Energy pegs the cost of floating offshore wind at about $200 per megawatt hour. That’s significantly more expensive than the agency’s estimates for land-based wind ($30), solar ($35) and even fixed offshore wind ($80).
The Summit aims to cut the cost to $45 per megawatt-hour. They want to achieve this with “breakthroughs across engineering, manufacturing, and other innovation areas.”
So basically, the Summit is an intense brainstorming session that its delegates then have to roll out in a viable and timely way in order to achieve the Floating Offshore Wind Shot‘s goals:
- Develop cost-effective technologies for deeper waters
- Bring power onshore to areas of high demand
- Create jobs in operations, construction, manufacturing, and more
- Ensure environmental sustainability and ocean co-use
- Expand supply chains including tailoring port infrastructure to support development
- Deploy large amounts of reliable, clean power
- Help revitalize port and manufacturing communities.
Electrek’s Take
Offshore floating wind is now being rolled out all over the world. It’s also really new. In September 2022, a White House brief noted that “globally, only 0.1 GW of floating offshore wind has been deployed to date, compared with over 50 GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind.”
And when it comes to the US, which is the very beginning of its offshore wind deployment, around two-thirds of US offshore wind energy potential is in water that’s too deep for fixed-bottom wind turbines.
The US’s goal is to deploy 15 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035, so it’s got its work cut out to reach this goal. But hey, it put a man on the moon in the 60s, and there’s already a fairly good general grasp of the technology, seeing how it’s already been successfully deployed in places like Norway, Scotland, and Portugal.
The Floating Offshore Wind Shot’s goals are on point, and this effort is going to be herculean and extremely challenging. I’m hopeful, because really cool clean energy innovation that is being used IRL literally lands in my inbox every day. Let’s hope innovation and momentum triumphs at the Summit this week.
Read more: World’s largest floating offshore wind farm is now online
Photo: WindFloat Atlantic, Portugal
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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