Construction on the first project is due to begin this year; supply contracts worth more than $1bn have been signed; swathes of the Atlantic Ocean are being opened up for commercial development; and foreign companies and banks have moved in to provide critical products and services.
If all goes to plan, President Barack Obama will leave office in January 2017 with at least 106 turbines spinning offshore, fulfilling his pledge to “stand up” the sector, while his administration will have laid the groundwork for dozens of gigawatts to be installed in waters stretching along the energy-hungry East Coast from Massachusetts to South Carolina.
