For the first time ever, the Danish energy provider Dong Energy has invested in an offshore wind turbine project outside Europe.
Dong has agreed to assume control of the 1,000MW-plus RES Americas Development project off the coast of Massachusetts in north-eastern US.
“The US is an interesting market for offshore wind – it has the potential to become a significant area for future development,” said Samuel Leupold, the executive VP of Dong Energy Wind Power.
“We already have a number of post-2020 projects in our pipeline in north-western Europe that we will continue to develop. With the takeover of the offshore wind development project in the US, we will broaden our geographical scope and follow the market potential outside of our current footprint.”
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Leupold went on to contend that the conditions at the Massachusetts site are similar to those Dong has worked with in north-western Europe – which could allow for the use of “well-known technology and logistics”.
The project, which is expected to take up more space than Bornholm and will be located about 90 kilometres off shore, will be taken over by Dong pending approval from the US authorities.
The US market for offshore wind turbines is at a much earlier stage compared to that in Europe, and so far there aren’t any large offshore parks off the US coast.
