Abstract
The goal of this study is to assess offshore wind energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and to quantify its technical and economic potential in order to inform Federal and GOM state strategic energy planning over the next decade. The objectives are to:
- Describe site-specific and regional benefits and challenges of deploying offshore wind in the GOM and discuss the current research to mitigate challenges;
- Review and quantify the wind resource capacity and energy potential in the GOM region for each GOM state including state and federal waters, distance from shore, and water depth;
- Perform geospatial regional economic assessments of levelized cost of energy (LCOE)1 , levelized avoided cost of energy (LACE)2 , and net value (Section 3.4.2);
- Evaluate three representative hypothetical locations for site-specific analysis;
- Perform a high-level assessment of local supporting infrastructure availability, including existing services (e.g., fabrication facilities, vessels, ports) and possible grid connection options;
- Assess the regional economic impacts of a 600 megawatt (MW) offshore wind power plant installed at a representative site in the GOM.