For clean energy investors, offshore wind farm projects can be attractive.
But this sector of the renewable energy landscape is facing headwinds in the U.S. and for now is more focused on Europe and Asia.
The administration of President Donald Trump has not been a friend to the U.S. offshore wind industry. While his predecessor encouraged massive arrays of huge turbines in U.S. coastal waters to power cities, Trump has actively fought the industry in court in favor of oil, gas and coal.
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“The Trump administration has, for the time being, effectively killed the fledgling U.S. offshore wind industry in the cradle,” says Matt Roling, clean finance expert, clinical assistant professor within the Kellogg School of Management and executive director of the Abrams Climate Academy.
But that doesn’t mean the investment case for offshore wind is dead. Even though it has faced short-term headwinds from inflation, supply chain issues and higher interest rates, over the longer term offshore wind energy has declined in cost as the industry has scaled up, improved manufacturing supply chains and adopted much larger turbine sizes.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, installed costs for offshore wind declined by almost half from 2010 to 2024. Additionally, climate goals will require boosting offshore wind capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030, the agency says. Last year, 9.3 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity was connected to electricity grids globally, a 16% rise over the previous year that brought total installed capacity to 92.5 gigawatts, according to a June report from the Global Wind Energy Council.
And Roling predicts the U.S. will come around with offshore wind.
“Coastal states with renewable mandates and genuine offshore wind resources, from New England through the Mid-Atlantic, around the Great Lakes and along the West Coast, remain positioned for long-term growth once federal policy stops working against the physics and economics of the resource,” Roling says.
As the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, the U.S. has robust infrastructure and operational technology that make producing and refining fossil fuels an efficient and profitable way to meet demand for power and transportation, lessening the economic need for offshore wind installations, notes Edward Jones analyst Nick Hummel.
It’s a different story in Europe, where fossil fuel production is less abundant and developed and there is strong sentiment for promoting renewable energy over oil and natural gas, Hummel says.
“Globally, particularly in Europe, offshore wind plays a vital role in supporting the popular goal of a long-term transition away from reliance on traditional fossil fuels,” he says.
Meanwhile, China has led the world in new offshore wind installations for years and has more than half of global installed capacity, Roling points out.
For investors, there are several ways to get exposure to the offshore wind industry, including through stocks of turbine manufacturers, farm developers or other companies involved in the supply chain.
— Wind turbine manufacturers.
— Wind farm developers.
— Other parts of the offshore wind supply chain.
Wind Turbine Manufacturers
A big chunk of the cost of developing offshore wind farms is dedicated to giant turbines, and turbine manufacturers are among the most obvious beneficiaries of development.
Major turbine players include Siemens Energy AG (ticker: ENR.DE), GE Vernova Inc. (GEV) and Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OTC: VWDRY).
Vestas is the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer by cumulative installed capacity and is the most globally diversified, Roling says. That diversification has helped Vestas weather the industry’s recent headwinds better than most, he says, pointing out the company’s compound annual revenue growth rate of 9.1% from 2022 through 2025 and 13.7 percentage points of margin expansion in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) over the same period.
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Wind Farm Developers
Of course, turbine sales wouldn’t happen without the companies developing the offshore wind farms in the first place.
The world’s largest offshore wind developer is Danish power company Orsted A/S (OTC: DNNGY). The company was involved in developing two pilot offshore wind projects in the U.S., off Rhode Island and Virginia.
Other developers to watch are Eversource Energy (ES), Equinor ASA (EQNR), Dominion Energy Inc. (D) and Shell PLC (SHEL).
Keep in mind that some developers also have exposure to the U.S. onshore wind industry, which is in a much stronger position than the domestic offshore wind sector.
Other Parts of the Offshore Wind Supply Chain
The supply chain supporting offshore wind farms includes specialized ocean vessels to transport and install components and companies that can make foundations. Plus, these wind farms require miles of high-voltage cable, as well as offshore substations to help handle the electricity.
Offshore wind supply chain companies include equipment manufacturer Nov Inc. (NOV), helicopter transfer company Bristow Group Inc. (VTOL), and offshore vessel companies Seacor Marine Holdings Inc. (SMHI), Tidewater Inc. (TDW) and Cadeler A/S (CDLR).
Investors who want more immediate diversification than building a portfolio from individual stocks can turn to the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN). The fund invests in the global wind sector and contains companies with both onshore and offshore exposure.
FAN also offers an easy way for investors to get exposure to Chinese companies involved in the offshore wind energy industry in China, which may be less accessible for U.S. retail investors than other stocks.
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Should You Invest in Offshore Wind Energy? originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/12/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
