A new deal calling for further cooperation in the offshore wind energy sector has been signed by the US and Denmark, thanks to a fairly positive view of wind energy within the Trump Administration, according to recent reports.
The new agreement means that top Europe-based wind energy firms, such as DONG Energy and Vestas, should have an easier time developing projects and relationships within the US market.
“We see some positive initiatives coming out of the administration in Washington,” commented the head of DONG’s US business, Thomas Brostroem, in an interview with Reuters, while referencing efforts to streamline on the federal level the permitting process for offshore wind energy projects. “They’ve been really receptive to talk to European countries and developers to get know-how from the past decades.”
Reuters provides more: “Danish companies DONG Energy and Vestas had feared the nascent US offshore wind sector would be stymied after President Trump vowed to revive the coal industry, challenged climate-change science and blasted renewable energy as expensive and dependent on government subsidies. But both companies now say the Trump administration is increasingly looking at Europe’s experience as it seeks to kick-start the sector.
“The US offshore wind sector, which has lagged behind Europe, is at a critical juncture, with the first large-scale offshore wind auction in Massachusetts coming up in December. But to gain traction, industry executives and experts say the United States will need to replicate the dramatic cost cuts which Europe has implemented.”
This news follows on the continuing growth of the European offshore wind energy sector in recent years — with more than 12 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy generation capacity now installed in the region.
“It is a huge scoop that we now get a formal cooperation with the Trump administration on offshore wind,” stated Danish climate and energy minister Lars Chr Lilleholt. “There’s no doubt that this is a sleeping giant.”
No, this indeed does not match well with what we’ve otherwise seen from the Trump administration on energy, but perhaps there is some hope in policies around this renewable energy arena.