I get very excited when I picture the clean-energy contribution of offshore wind. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the generating potential of offshore wind equals the entire generating capacity of the current U.S. electric system! And that’s just in areas with less than 100 feet of water. If you include all of the potential offshore wind capacity, it increases to four times the current U.S. electrical generation!.

The upside of offshore wind is that it has a much smaller environmental footprint, so it is hard for locals to justify opposition to these projects. The downside offshore wind is it is more expensive to develop than onshore. But if it’s possible to build offshore oil rigs that drill in a mile of water, then surely technologies for offshore wind will continue to improve.

It is no wonder, then, that in September the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $43 million to stimulate development offshore wind development. It funded 41 projects in 20 states in areas that will advance offshore wind technologies and remove market barriers. For example, $6.7 million is going toward improving modeling and analysis tools specific to marine environments in order to improve design and cost estimates.

I also read with interest about the sale of a privately held German company, BARD Holding. BARD is one of the biggest players in offshore wind. This could be a huge addition to any company’s portfolio, as there is no doubt that offshore wind will be a growth industry. Bloomberg reports that General Electric (GE) may be interested in BARD, or another large buyer in Asia or Europe.

Either way, offshore wind offers an exciting growth opportunity in alternative energy.

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