APEM welcome the winds of change in the US

Shortly after taking office, Trump announced that the US would end participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, but began negotiations to re-enter the agreement “on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers”. The withdrawal took effect on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 US presidential election however Joe Biden has vowed to re-join the Paris Agreement on his first day in office as President of the United States.

As Vice President during the Obama administration, Joe Biden supported green initiatives which welcomed the use of renewable energy (including offshore wind) to generate a portion of America’s 100.2 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) usage.

In 2019, renewable energy only made up 11%[1] of the US’s primary energy consumption, with wind making up 24% of that.

Note: Sum of components may not equal 100% because of independent rounding. Source: U.S Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3 and 10.1 April 2020, preliminary data

Despite the past four years under Trump, energy generated from wind has increased year on year and Biden has gone on record as stating he wants to double the amount of energy generated by this source by 2030 and make demonstrable steps for America’s energy to become 100% renewable in the future.

As we enter a new presidential term, there is optimism that the positive steps towards taking climate change mitigation seriously will start Biden’s presidency with the green agenda front and center. With a Republican Senate and a Democratic House, Republicans hold a majority in many areas and so an easy route for Biden’s legislative changes is not guaranteed.

However, US citizens, and most global energy consumers, understand and welcome the need to increase the use of renewable energy, and support for wind energy is at an all-time high[2] in the US. With one OWF already in place off the North East coast and more at planning stage, and even more planned off the coast of California, we will be following America’s progress towards a more renewable future with hope.

APEM look forward to working with existing clients and new OSW developers to support the Democratic Party’s energy objectives, providing expert advice and data analysis. As well as undertaking work in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey & the Carolinas we have completed pre-construction surveys in Australia, South East Asia, the UK, and Ireland, working with both statutory bodies, agencies, and developers.

Whether your survey is being commissioned for a pre or post-construction purpose, collection of baseline data, marine planning, condition monitoring or the provision of population estimates to inform environmental impact assessments, there is an art to ensuring that the right information and data are captured. APEM work with their clients to help ensure that the design of the survey will satisfy all stakeholder’s needs. Our technical experience is second to none and over the years we have fine-tuned our methodologies to ensure that we can provide the best possible advice that will deliver exactly what you need.

To find out more about APEM’s digital aerial surveys that support global best practice, delivered across the world, please visit our website.

Photo by Kevin Lanceplaine on Unsplash

[1] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/

[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-really-want-the-us-adopt-renewable-energy-sources-2019-10?r=US&IR=T

1 x Btu (British thermal units) = 0.000293071 kWh

*At the time of writing this article, Joe Biden was announced as the 46th US President, however, Donald Trump was considering undertaking legal action based on his claim that the election was unfair.