The Great Lakes offer ideal conditions for offshore wind energy, yet no turbines have been built there due to regulatory and economic barriers. States control the lakebeds, providing some advantages over federal ocean waters, but federal oversight and infrastructure gaps persist. Developers and lawmakers express cautious optimism amid political uncertainties.
The Great Lakes, with a surface area larger than New England, New York, and New Jersey combined, feature stronger, more consistent, and less turbulent winds than over land, making them suitable for wind farms. The National Laboratory of the Rockies estimates that offshore wind in Great Lakes states could generate over three times their combined annual electricity use. However, no turbines exist there owing to bureaucratic hurdles, high costs, and missing infrastructure like specialized ships and ports found on the East Coast, where the three operating U.S. offshore wind projects are located, along with several under construction. Great Lakes states hold jurisdiction over lakebeds, unlike the federal control on ocean seabeds, but projects still require federal permits under laws like the Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act. Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, stated, “If it’s done correctly and we’re able to harness even a fraction of that, we could offset a lot of electricity demand.” A brief boom occurred over a decade ago under President Barack Obama, with explorations by the New York Power Authority and Toronto on Lakes Ontario and Erie. Only Ohio’s Icebreaker Wind project advanced but was abandoned in 2023 after regulatory disputes over nighttime operations and a court challenge regarding bats and birds. Recent political shifts complicated matters: President Donald Trump’s memorandum halted offshore wind permitting, suspending five East Coast projects, though courts later intervened. Jim Lanard, co-founder of Magellan Wind, said of Illinois plans, “That told us that this was not the time to reintroduce floating offshore wind in Illinois,” pausing Great Lakes pursuits until federal stability emerges. He anticipates development in five to seven years from 2029. In Illinois, state Representative Marcus Evans Jr. pushed the Illinois Rust Belt to Green Belt Pilot Program Act since 2022, refiled in 2025 by Senator Robert Peters, but it stalled. Evans noted, “I didn’t have the support,” though he plans to refile, linking it to the state’s 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act for clean energy workforce and 100% clean power by 2050.