Vicky Mant, international ambassador at RenewableUK, discusses opportunities across the pond from her new role in Houston, Texas.

I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown since I left to start this American adventure and, wow, what a whirlwind it has been so far.

As soon as I touched down, I made it my business to start client meetings; going to receptions and getting to know the market here in H-town.

What has hit me is the energy, enthusiasm and innovation that is coming out of Texas and well… America – there is so much opportunity from offshore wind to hydrogen, and these are opportunities for UK companies.

Although the USA offshore wind market is seemingly constantly reported as being in a “state of flux”, things are still happening and moving forwards.

Two commercial-scale projects started delivering power to the grid at the end of 2023, and our recent EnergyPulse Insights – Global Edition report shares that there is 75GW of new-build capacity in the North American pipeline so far, of which 80% has already been awarded to developers.

Currently, 16 USA states have announced leasing, projects or development targets. There is expected to be an average of 3.4GW of commissioned capacity each year between 2024 and 2030, mainly concentrated toward the end of the decade.

There are four planned USA leasing rounds in 2024, although some could slip into 2025. These are the Central Atlantic, Oregon, Gulf of Maine, and Gulf of Mexico zones. Oregon and the Gulf of Maine are likely to lease floating wind.

There will also be multiple solicitations carried out by New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Projects that cancelled due to unachievable PPA agreements are likely to re-bid, as well as entrants making their first bid.

Winners of these will likely change the development order of projects in the region.

If UK businesses are interested in this market, then now is the time to start planning. There are various shows (at which I will be representing RenewableUK) across the year to attend; the IPF in April in New Orleans; Pacific Offshore Wind Summit in May in California; ClimateTech in September here in sunny Houston; ACP Offshore in October in Atlantic City to name a few!

Getting your face in front of the opportunity out here, building your networks and making connections for potential partnerships down the way are imperative if you want to be taken seriously.

This leads me nicely into the next chapter of my life with RenewableUK. I am excited to be moving into a New Ventures consultant capacity, working on specific projects, including looking at expanding our EnergyPulse data intelligence service to become a standalone global product.

It is an exciting time in the offshore wind sector and we want to make sure that the UK is internationally recognised as a market leader.