In this online engineering PDH course, the current status of offshore wind energy development in the United States is described, along with the challenges impeding further deployment. Five strategies to make the United States a global leader in the industry are identified: 1) expand federal incentives, 2) reduce offshore wind energy costs, 3) improve siting and regulatory processes, 4) invest in the supply chain, and 5) plan grid integration. This course is intended for engineers interested in wind energy technology. This course is based on the report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, “Offshore Wind Energy Strategies,” January 2022.

Learning Objectives:

• Knowing the relatively small amount of offshore wind energy currently being generated and what might be reasonably expected in the next thirty years
• Understanding the advantage of being able to site offshore wind energy projects relatively close to large cities
• Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of offshore wind generation compared to onshore generation
• Understanding how federal tax incentives can be used to expand wind energy generation
• Understanding how the siting and regulatory processes can be improved
• Characterizing the role of grid integration with offshore wind energy generation
• Knowing how features of wind-energy projects will vary in different regions such as the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes
• Understanding how offshore wind energy could contribute to economywide decarbonization by producing hydrogen for use as a zero-carbon transportation fuel