Faltering US Offshore Wind Industry Sends Next-Generation Startup Overseas
Though Aikido Technologies has just deployed its first floating platform in US waters, the market there appears increasingly unappealing.
Wind turbines offshore of Taichung, Taiwan. Offshore wind turbines in Shanghai, China. Startup Aikido Technologies Inc. is looking to deploy its unique floating offshore wind platform abroad.
Photographer: An Rong Xu/BloombergOff the coast of Mississippi, a startup has completed its first floating platform for offshore wind turbines. Aikido Technologies Inc.’s solution would allow companies to deploy traditional turbines further from land, where the wind tends to blow stronger and more consistently, and the company sees the Mississippi deployment as a big step toward commercialization.
But despite being US-based and backed by the federal government, Aikido isn’t banking on the country to be its main or even a major market for its technology due to the industry’s challenging economics domestically. President-Elect Donald Trump has also been openly hostile toward offshore wind.