After years of false starts, offshore wind is poised to take off along the East Coast. Commitments by states to purchase renewable power, support from the Biden administration, and billions in new investment are all contributing to the emergence of this fledgling industry.
US energy consumption collapses to lowest level in three decades
The losses in electricity consumption were minimised due to an increase in residential use, a new report finds
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The US primary energy use plummeted 7.8% in 2020, the largest year-on-year decline in energy consumption in at least three decades.
A new report by BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) shows energy demand from the transportation sector fell hardest, slipping 14.4% as Americans commuted and travelled less.
The findings of the report also show electricity demand declined the least, falling just 3.8% – commercial and industrial consumption drop was partly offset by the increase in domestic use because of the stay home and work from home order.
On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?
After years of false starts, offshore wind is poised to take off along the East Coast. Commitments by states to purchase renewable power, support from the Biden administration, and billions in new investment are all contributing to the emergence of this fledgling industry.
About 60 miles east of New York’s Montauk Point, a 128,000-acre expanse of the Atlantic Ocean is expected to produce enough electricity to power around 850,000 homes when it’s populated with wind turbines and connected to the onshore grid in the next few years.
Fifteen miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, another windy swath of ocean is due to start generating enough power for some 500,000 homes when a forest of 850-foot-high turbines start turning there in 2024.
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