US to get offshore wind supply chain database for 20 GW by 2035

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Business Network for Offshore Wind and DNV GL will jointly develop a U.S. offshore wind supply chain database that will support the development of 20 GW of offshore wind power by 2035.

The project is funded by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, which will support eleven more offshore wind research and development projects through its recently awarded grants worth USD 10.3 million.

The collaboration between the Business Network for Offshore Wind, NREL and DNV GL will see the creation of a comprehensive U.S. supply chain analysis by expanding on the Network’s Offshore Wind Supply Chain Registry.

The data collected will be compared with fresh projections to determine what is needed to reach 20 GW of offshore wind power in the U.S. by 2035. It will also determine how a domestic supply chain can be developed from the current state of relevant industries on the East Coast, Business Network for Offshore Wind states.

The Business Network will engage with industry and government stakeholders and employ a panel of expert reviewers to reach companies. The organisation will then update the information in the Offshore Wind Supply Chain registry and make the results available for business and economic development.

NREL and DNV GL will develop detailed projections of the supply chain capacity required to support the first phase of an offshore build-out off the Atlantic coast. The team will then compare the capabilities listed in the updated Registry with the projected demand to identify major manufacturing and workforce gaps in the existing supply chain, a potential pathway for addressing these gaps, and the subsequent economic benefits that can be realized as a result.

The Network will compare the resulting database with several new analyses also funded by the grant.