News Roundup

DOE: 6 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Expected by 2029

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has stated that developers are planning to build more than 6 gigawatts of offshore wind plants in the United States over the next seven years. In an issue of Today in Energy, DOE notes that most of these projects are on the Atlantic Coast, including projects off the coast of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as a project in Lake Erie of the coast of Ohio. A chart provided by DOE shows the first large projects coming online in 2024 to bring the nation to over 2 gigawatts of capacity and then growing steadily to reach over 5 gigawatts in 2027.

Source: Developers plan to add 6 gigawatts of U.S. offshore wind capacity through 2029 (Today in Energy, EIA)

14% of Americans Would Get an EV As Their Next Vehicle

An increasing number of Americans are expressing interest in getting an electric-only vehicle for their next car, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. The survey found that 14% of Americans say that they would get an electric vehicle if they were to buy or lease an EV today, compared to 4% when the same survey was issued in 2020. Another 22% said that they would seriously consider one.

However, only 2% of Americans currently have a battery electric vehicle, and only 9% say they are very familiar with the fundamentals of owning an EV. A majority of respondents cited charging logistics (61%) range (55%) and the cost of buying, owning, and maintaining an EV (52%) as barriers.

Source: Battery Electric Vehicles & Low Carbon Fuel Survey (Consumer Reports)

28 Hydrogen Hubs Proposed for the United States & Canada

S&P Global has identified 23 different hydrogen “hub” projects in the United States and five in Canada that have been proposed by developers. Many of the U.S. projects are vying to take advantage of the $8 billion in funding for four regional hydrogen projects that was made available in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

While 13 of these are “green hydrogen” projects, five would utilize natural gas, and eight would be powered by various mixes of renewable energy, natural gas, and nuclear power. The geography also varies widely, with projects across North America from Southern California to Canada’s Nova Scotia.

Source: Geography matters: Hydrogen hub proposals spring up across North America (S&P Global)