While offshore wind scales around the world, U.S. wind can’t seem to find its sea legs. China has 129 operating offshore wind farms, followed by 39 in the UK, 30 in Germany, and 26 in Vietnam. The U.S. has just 2. Why is U.S. wind lagging behind other countries?
In the past few years, the U.S. has sought to push forward on wind. However, that’s coincided with cost surges, supply chain challenges, high interest rates, permit delays, and opposition from wildlife organizations, local residents, and fishing groups who feel there hasn’t been enough project vetting to ensure safety. Wind’s worries intensified this summer when a 300-foot-long wind turbine blade made by GE Verona collapsed on a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. Given the state of our planet and the extensive need for energy transition to clean, affordable electricity, our planet can’t afford to wait.
To get U.S. wind on track, we need to employ what I call the 4 considerations of problem-solving in today’s warming world: creativity, collaboration, connection, and climate.
Creativity
With surging costs, scare resources in the supply chain, and safety issues of today’s wind turbines, we need to redesign them with materials that are abundant, affordable, and durable. Sounds like a job for recycled plastics to me. Vestas, a manufacturer of wind turbines, agrees. There are many factors to consider in turbine design and what they’re working on right now might not be the right solution. However, it’s this kind of redesign thinking that’s needed given the numerous challenges.
Collaboration
Launching a large-scale offshore wind farm is an all-hands-on-deck project. Government (local, state, and federal), finance, design, engineering, marine science, wildlife advocates, and local communities have to rally around it and pool their talents and efforts. Right now, many of these parties are fighting one another and it’s sinking the projects. If we lose the momentum of this moment to the tired us-versus-them paradigm, we may lose the opportunity to make this energy transition before the worst outcomes of climate change find their way to us.
Connection
While China has many operating wind farms, ~16% of its wind power has historically gone unused, costing ~$1.2 billion. This is mostly due to a lack of connections to the grid. The energy doesn’t do anyone any good if it can’t reach them when and where they need it. Like the design of the turbines, we may also need to rethink how we connect new wind projects to the grid.
Climate
This is the bit that I find most disturbing about offshore wind because it’s the one we cannot directly control. Wind is generated by the difference between land and sea temperatures. Research is beginning to show that difference decreasing due to rapidly rising ocean temperatures from climate change, generating less wind. While we’re making this transition toward clean energy, we also need to enhance the efficiency of turbines to do as much as we can with the wind we have in an ever-hotter world.
With all these challenges for offshore wind, I wondered if it was worth it. Should we abandon the wind effort and focus solely on other forms of clean energy such as solar? As I listened to energy experts at Climate Week NYC, it became clear that the U.S. needs offshore wind as part of the energy supply mix. Wind is one of the least expensive and most efficient sources of power. Without offshore wind, the winds themselves may disappear altogether. That’s a scenario none of us can afford.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
