Offshore wind energy in US is in its starting stages, with only four operational wind farms off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia as of January 2025. The first wind farm in US, Block Island Wind Farm, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project, the South Fork Wind project, and Vineyard Wind 1 collectively contribute a combined capacity of approximately 174 megawatts (MW) to the U.S. energy grid in 2025.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reported more than 300% increase in capacity under construction in 2024. In 2023, there were 938 MW of offshore wind energy projects under construction, and by 2024, this figure has surged to 4,097 MW. Three major upcoming offshore wind farms in USA, including Vineyard Wind 1 (806 MW), Revolution Wind (704 MW), and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (2,587 MW,) mainly contribute to this.

The U.S. offshore wind energy development pipeline has also reached a potential capacity of 80,523 MW, growing by 53% (27,836 MW) in 2024. Key development offshore lease areas include the Gulf of Maine, the mid-Atlantic, the Oregon coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of Maine.

The US, with 80% of the American population living within 200 miles of the coast, is putting efforts to reach 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. With several projects in the announcement and permitting phase, we can see an upsurge in offshore wind projects in upcoming years. 

Let’s look into the top seven upcoming offshore wind farm power projects in the United States:

Top Offshore Wind Farms in the United States (2025)

Community Offshore Wind

Community Offshore Wind, LLC (Community Offshore Wind) is the largest wind farm in the US, currently in the permitting stage. The project, owned by National Grid and RWE, is located in the New York Bight. The offshore wind farm will generate 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy and power 1.1 million New York homes. 

The wind farm will give several benefits to New York State, including a 5% reduction in carbon emissions and 850 hours of service to benefit local communities. 

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The project's design includes two proposed interconnection points to efficiently deliver electricity to consumers. One phase of the project will interconnect at the ConEd Clean Energy Hub in Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill area, and the second phase will connect at the E.F. Barrett Power Station in Island Park, Long Island. This approach is being evaluated by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) to ensure compatibility with existing infrastructure.

Community Offshore Wind will also be linked to transmission infrastructure being developed under New York Transco's Propel NY Energy project. The project is developed in a single phase, with construction expected to commence in 2026 and commercial operations projected to begin in 2030.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (ASOW) project is one of the largest wind projects in the United States, having a capacity of more than 2.5 GW. The project consists of two phases with Atlantic Shores offshore wind project 1 with 1.5 GW being developed in New Jersey. The Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is a joint venture of Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables, having equal shares.

The permit to build the wind farm ASOW 1 was granted by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) in 2021. The project will have the capacity to power more than 700,000 homes, and the construction is expected to start this year. Also, the offshore wind project is expected to create more than 22,200 direct and 11,800 indirect full-time jobs in the industry.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind farm will have 200 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines. The electricity is transferred using 66kV-150kV high-voltage alternating current inter-array cables and to existing onshore substations at Cardiff and Larrbee in New Jersey. Denmark-based Ramboll will design the wind turbine foundations and EEW American Offshore Structures manufacturing monopile for the project.

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), owned by Dominion Energy, represents one of the largest offshore wind projects in the United States. The offshore wind farm is located approximately 23.5 nautical miles east of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The project will have an estimated capacity of 2.6 GW and will be capable of powering over 900,000 homes.

This commercial-scale project builds on the success of its pilot phase, which became operational in October 2020. The pilot phase consists of two offshore wind turbines generating 6 megawatts each, enough to power up to 3,000 homes. 

This Coastal Virginia Offshore wind pilot project is the first offshore wind farm in federal waters and also the first wind farm developed and owned by an electric utility in the U.S.

The commercial phase, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind-Commercial (CVOW-C) was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on January 28, 2024. This large-scale offshore wind farm in the US will consist of 176 Siemens’ SWT-6.0-154 offshore wind turbines. 

CVOW is expected to save customers USD 3 billion in fuel costs during its first decade of operations and will require more than 1,000 local jobs to maintain its infrastructure and operations. Onshore construction for transmission infrastructure began in late 2023 and it is followed by the start of offshore construction in early 2024.

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In October 2024, Avangrid sold the nearly 40,000-acre Kitty Hawk North offshore wind lease area to Dominion Energy for approximately USD 160 million. This transaction included a lease acquisition payment of USD 117 million and reimbursement of associated development costs. The added 800 MW wind area will be renamed as CVOW-South and Dominion’s CVOW portfolio of projects will climb to 3.4 GW of generation capacity.

In the same month, Dominion Energy finalized the sale of a 50 percent non-controlling interest in the CVOW project to Stonepeak. This transaction is part of Dominion Energy’s debt reduction efforts with a total amount of USD 21 billion.

Leading Light Wind

Leading Light Wind is one of the biggest offshore wind energy projects, panning approximately 84,000 acres of seabed in the New York Bight. The wind farm has a planned capacity of 2,400 MW, and it will generate enough electricity to power up to 1 million New Jersey homes annually.

The Leading Light Wind project was developed by American companies Invenergy and energyRe, making it the only American-led project in New York Bight. Once operational, the wind farm is projected to offset 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually from the East Coast.

The project has a development timeline spanning from 2022 to 2027. Offshore construction is expected to take place between 2028 and 2032, with commercial operations expected to commence in 2030.

Vineyard Wind North East Offshore Power Plant 1

Vineyard Wind 1 project is the United States' first large-scale offshore wind farm located at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The project is 25 times the size of one located in Rhode Island with operations in New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. Phase 1 of this power plant is set to produce 806 MW, with the full capacity of the project estimated to be 2143 MW in completion. The power plant is commissioned by a joint venture of Avangrid, Inc. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

Construction of the power plant started in late 2021, with five turbines of the 62 planned, and is currently generating 68 MW of clean energy. The project acquired all the permits for construction, including federal approval from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The Vineyard Wind uses Haliade-X wind turbine generators from GE Renewable Energy with up to 13 megawatts of power and a height of 248 meters.

Read: Top 5 Wind Turbine Manufacturers in the United States

Windar Renovables will manufacture 62 wind turbine foundations, and the Italian Prysmian Group commissions the submarine cabling system, which connects the offshore wind farm and Continental US power transmission grid. The designing, installation, and manufacture of 51 kilometers of high-voltage overland cable are done by the U.S. company Southwire.

The project will prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 annually and save USD 3.7 billion in energy costs in the New England region. It will strengthen the local workforce by creating more than 3,600 Full Time Equivalent job years.

Golden State Wind

Golden State Wind is one of the largest floating offshore wind projects in the United States, which is currently in its early stages of development. The wind farm is located in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off California’s central coast. Upon completion, the wind project is expected to generate up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of clean offshore wind energy and is capable of powering approximately 1.1 million homes.

Golden State Wind is a 50/50 partnership between Ocean Winds (OW) and Reventus Power. The renewable energy project not only aims to decarbonize California’s energy grid but also acts as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation in the region. Golden State Wind has committed to investing USD 30 million in workforce development and supply chain initiatives in California.

On November 14, 2024, the BOEM published a Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register for the California Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), which includes the Golden State Wind project. This marks the beginning of a 90-day public comment period, allowing stakeholders and the public to provide input on the environmental review process.

Olympic Wind

The Olympic Wind project is a large-scale floating offshore wind farm proposed off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington. The wind farm developed by Trident Winds has a planned capacity of 2,000 MW and is expected to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 800,000 homes. The floating offshore wind project in the US is located 69 km (43 miles) off the Olympic Peninsula.

Trident Winds submitted an unsolicited lease request to the U.S. BOEM in April 2022 to kickstart the permitting and development process. If granted a non-competitive lease, the company will begin preparing a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) and a Construction and Operations Plan (COP). 

The final investment decision (FID) is expected around 2028, leading to construction commencement the same year. The project is set to be developed in a single phase, with commercial operations projected to begin by 2030.

The wind farm will be installed in water depths ranging from 600 meters to 1,300 meters deep on the Washington coast. Floating offshore wind technology is used to harness an average wind speed of 8 to 8.5 meters per second. Trident Winds plans to deploy 10-20 MW turbines and will assess commercially available floating foundations during the SAP phase.

U.S. Offshore Wind: Growth, Investment, and Policy Uncertainty

The U.S. offshore wind industry has faced rapid growth, major investments, and policy shifts shaping its trajectory in 2025. The Department of Energy has allocated over USD 300 million for research and development of offshore wind technologies.

Since 2021, the U.S. offshore wind development supply chain has attracted USD 10 billion in announced or actual investments, including USD 2.1 billion in 2023 for port development, vessel orders, workforce training, and infrastructure. 

However, NREL estimates that at least USD 22 billion will be required to establish a fully functioning supply chain. The construction phase of offshore wind projects is projected to support 43,000 to 80,000 jobs annually over the next decade, contributing USD 34.4 billion to USD 78.7 billion to the U.S. GDP. These pipeline projects could sustain 33,000 to 73,000 jobs per year, generating between USD 1.9 billion and USD 4.3 billion in annual earnings.

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US Wind Energy Targets

For the clean energy target, the US government has implemented the Inflation Reduction Act and acquired a sum of USD 2.7 billion in investments. Also, the projects will power 10 million homes, and cut 78 million metric tons in carbon emissions. The statistics by the U.S. The Department of Energy shows that they can install a total of 86,000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2050.

The major offshore wind farms in the US are Empire Wind, Maryland Offshore Wind, South Fork Wind in Massachusetts & Rhode Island, Sunrise Wind, Revolution Wind, Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island state waters, and Cape Wind.

Here are some of the upcoming offshore projects in US you will be interested in:

1. Blue Wind Offshore Power Plant
2. Carolina Long Bay 1 Offshore Wind Power Plant
3. Carolina Long Bay 2 Offshore Wind Power Plant
4. Humboldt 2 Offshore Wind Power Plant
5. Community Offshore Wind Power Plant
6. New England Wind Offshore Wind Power Plant
7. South fork wind farm

Policy Uncertainty and Challenges

Despite this progress, the U.S. offshore wind industry faces new challenges. On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on new or renewed federal actions related to onshore and offshore wind projects. This policy halts federal leases, approvals, or land rights for new projects until a federal review is completed. The decision introduces uncertainty for developers, investors, and stakeholders, potentially slowing future growth and affecting planned projects.

While long-term cost reductions are projected due to technological advancements and supply chain improvements, near-term challenges such as economic conditions and policy shifts create hurdles for the industry. The coming years will be crucial in determining the future of offshore wind energy in the U.S., balancing investment momentum with regulatory stability.

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