Why is America falling behind Europe in offshore wind energy production?

Though America has numerous conventional inland wind farms, there are currently zero operational offshore farms. There are several proposed projects: the Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, as well as other schemes in the northeast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The timeline from proposal to operational, however, can be years, if developed at all.

The first (and currently only) offshore wind turbine in Castine Harbor, Maine, launched in May 2013.

Europe, on the other hand, installed their first offshore turbine in 1991, and currently has over 6000 MW of capacity. Part of the recent increase in development is due to the European Renewable Energy Council’s bid to generate 20% of member state’s energy from renewables by 2020. In 2013, the expansion in offshore wind now amounts to 10% of Europe’s total wind power.

The most abstract of the culprits in such slow development in America may be the long-term regulatory processes that constructing an offshore wind farm may entail. Approval and permit processes can delay any steps throughout the process, often taking months or years to complete. As such, one of the largest barriers to offshore wind development in the northeast, in particular the Cape Wind project, has been local opposition groups who delay aforementioned approval processes. The northeast coast – already assessed as being one of the most lucrative areas for offshore wind farm development – is controlled by an affluent class.

Wind farm site leases have finally been sold in the locations surrounding Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket Sound, and Cape Cod. This advance is much to the dismay of coastal property owners and residents who have been in opposition to the project since it was conceived in 2001. Known as the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, figureheads include former presidential nominee Mitt Romney and billionaire oil heir William Koch.

Scotland has seen similar attempts to derail offshore wind farm progress due in part to local golf course owner Donald Trump, who claims that a development will “spoil the view.” In the past week, he has initiated a legal battle with the Scottish courts regarding the legality of such a project.

Under the guise of fears for the coastal ecosystem, local residents (or in most cases, seasonal residents) have expressed concern over this and so-called ‘visual pollution.’ Interesting to note is the population’s typical support of alternative energies, just not in the body of water in their sightline. This phenomenon, known as NIMBY-ism (Not In My BackYard), is historically one of the most monumental obstacles to alternative energy development, causing issues with inland wind farms due to irritating sound, and hydroelectric dams due to recreational debilitations. Apparently in the case of Martha’s Vineyard, it is especially so when the proposed site is in the backyard of millionaires.