This report quantifies Alaska’s offshore wind resource capacity while focusing on its unique nature. It is a supplement to the existing U.S. Offshore Wind Resource Assessment, which evaluated the offshore wind resource for all other U.S. states (Musial et al. 2016). Together, these reports provide the foundation for the nation’s offshore wind value proposition. Both studies were developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The analysis presented herein represents the first quantitative evidence of the offshore wind energy potential of Alaska.
The net energy potential for Alaska is estimated to be 12,087 TWh/year, which is substantially higher than the statewide electricity consumption of approximately 6 TWh/year and higher than the total U.S. consumption of 3,711 TWh/year (U.S. EIA 2017c).