The first commercial oil well in the world was drilled in 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Almost ninety years passed, before the first offshore well was drilled in the world in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil and gas industry has developed new technology that has allowed wells to be drilled and production facilities to be built offshore in hostile regions around the world. Production facilities can withstand hurricane force winds and operate in water depths over 7,900 feet.
The technology developed for oil and gas facilities to withstand harsh offshore environments and operate in ultradeep water is now being applied to the offshore wind industry. Seventy-four offshore wind farms are operating in Europe (Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) and twelve offshore wind farms are operating in Europe (People’s Republic of China and Japan). The first offshore wind farm in the United States began operation off the coast of Rhode Island in December 2016. However, six states along the eastern seaboard of the United States have committed to build offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 8,000 MW. Additional offshore wind projects are also in the planning states that could provide another 25,000 MW of clean, renewable energy to the United States.
Offshore wind provides clean, renewable energy that will allow the United States to move away from fossil fuel (coal, oil and natural gas) to keep electrical power running in our cities. Offshore wind also means thousands of new jobs constructing and operating the wind turbines and wind farm facilities. The oil and gas industry is helping to jump start the offshore wind industry in the United States.