Is Offshore Wind *Finally* Coming to America?

<p>The lack of progress on offshore wind in America is one of the most baffling and frustrating stories in energy.&nbsp;</p><p>The technology and resource availability are tremendous. Europe has de-risked the technology and proven it can be deployed at scale, and at low cost, with minimal disruption. U.S. states are setting big targets. And at a national-scale, people want it.</p><p>And yet, we have not been able to get any meaningful amounts of offshore wind capacity in the water.&nbsp;</p><p>That may be <a href="https://grist.org/energy/bidens-new-moonshot-an-offshore-wind-industry-to-rival-europes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">about to change</a>. In late March, the Biden team said it plans to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/29/fact-sheet-biden-administration-jumpstarts-offshore-wind-energy-projects-to-create-jobs/#:~:text=The%20Departments%20of%20Interior%20(DOI,and%20promoting%20ocean%20co%2Duse." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">accelerate offshore wind development</a> -- with a goal of getting 30 gigawatts of projects finished by 2030, and 110 gigawatts by 2050.</p><p>By comparison, we have 30 megawatts in the water now. And Europe currently has 25 gigawatts operational.</p><p>So what does the government need to do to finally make this industry a reality?</p><p>Energy futurist <a href="https://twitter.com/ramez" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ramez Naam</a> is our guest co-host this week.&nbsp;</p><p>We’ll also talk about Biden’s <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/04/biden-100-days-climate-change-humanitys-greatest-threat/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first 100 days in office</a>. He marked the occasion with <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063731301" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a speech</a> to Congress that emphasized his “blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.” H e’s drawing a very clear connection between taking action on climate change and building tons of j