# Multicriteria models provide enhanced insight for siting US offshore wind

## TL;DR

This paper uses a multi-criteria model to identify optimal offshore wind sites in the US that balance developer and stakeholder interests.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel multi-criteria model to evaluate offshore wind site potential across the US.

## Key findings

- Larger wind plants are more sensitive to location and have higher uncertainty compared to smaller ones.
- 600 GW of offshore wind capacity aligns with both developer and stakeholder interests and should be prioritized.
- Few West Coast sites align with both interests, suggesting deeper water or reduced stakeholder interactions are needed.

## Abstract

Offshore wind can be a key contributor to energy system decarbonization, but its deployment in certain regions has been slow, partly due to opposition from disparate interests. Failure to sufficiently address the concerns of external stakeholders could continue to hamper deployment. Here, we use a multi criteria model to assess all possible sites in a 2 km × 2 km grid of all potential locations in continental US federal waters, contrasting the perspectives of developers and other stakeholders. Our model elucidates how developers and policymakers could better approach future deployment. First, while developers prefer larger plants, we find that these facilities are more fragile—they are sensitive to location, and their impacts are more uncertain than smaller plants. Second, there is 600 GW of capacity where both developer and stakeholder interests align—developing these locations should be prioritized. Third, there are few areas on the US West Coast where developer and stakeholder preferences align, suggesting a need to reduce stakeholder–plant interactions or locate facilities in deeper waters than current technology allows.