NREL Report Highlights Transmission Challenges and Opportunities for Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Energy

The Gulf of Mexico represents 37% of the country's total offshore wind energy potential and could provide a reliable, clean source of energy to customers in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The ability to effectively and efficiently connect offshore wind energy resources to end users in the Gulf of Mexico requires coordinated transmission planning to ensure that electric transmission facilities can adequately support future offshore development.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Wind Energy Technologies Office and Grid Deployment Office, NREL researchers published a report—Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis: Environmental Considerations, Community Readiness, and Infrastructure—that examines the current literature to gather information and identify gaps.

Through this research, the team identified several key factors that could influence transmission planning. These include:

• Multiple, conflicting uses for specific ocean sites
• Ability to repurpose existing energy infrastructure
• The evolving energy landscape of the Gulf.

Key Findings

The Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis: Environmental, Community Readiness, and Infrastructure report summarizes currently available information on available infrastructure, environmental factors, and community readiness as related to offshore wind energy transmission planning in the Gulf of Mexico. In the report, the authors state that:

• Prior to this effort, researchers had not studied offshore wind energy transmission in the Gulf of Mexico—this research is needed to inform regional transmission planning and adequately meet regional and future energy needs.
• The oil and gas industry already has infrastructure and workers positioned in the Gulf of Mexico; new offshore wind energy projects could be supported through shared transmission systems and workforce.
• Future transmission planning must consider the Gulf of Mexico's highly productive ecosystem, diverse coastal communities, considerable existing infrastructure, and heavy industrial foundation.
• Transmission solutions should be tailored to regional environmental concerns to minimize impacts to wildlife, habitat, and coastal resources.
• Transmission projects should include local communities in their planning efforts.

Overall, the researchers found that transmission projects will require collaborative, coordinated planning across multiple diverse groups, including federal, Tribal, state, and local entities, to ensure new projects help meet evolving decarbonization and clean energy goals.