The US led the world in wind capacity additions last year, capturing roughly 30% of the worldwide market. But when it comes to gaining approval for certain projects, it still needs to streamline the overall process.

For instance, a report filed by The Boston Globe has highlighted that aesthetic concerns have stalled the Cape Wind project, which would erect 130 turbines 5 - 13 miles from Cape Cod and Nantucket. At the same time, it mentioned that the technological advancements in recent years are allowing developers elsewhere to consider building wind turbines farther from shore, where they would be less visible.

“People do take Cape Wind into account and try to avoid the same kind of controversy,’’ reportedly said Walt Musial, principal engineer of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, part of the US Department of Energy.

“But the trade-off is that the deeper the project is, the greater the technical risk in terms of reliability, survivability, and . . . payback.’’

According to a report released by the US Department of Energy, to date, all wind power installations in the U.S. have been onshore, though there are now 11 “advanced-stage” offshore wind project proposals totaling more than 2,000 MW in various phases of development in U.S. waters.

In a positive development, a newly formed collaborative between the private sector and a host of New York State and New York City agencies have issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a wind farm. The group is exploring the possibility of creating an offshore wind project that would be situated approximately 13 miles off the south shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. The initiative is a step towards the development of what could be the largest offshore wind farm proposal in the country. The wind project would likely be designed for 350 MW of generation, with the ability to expand it to 700 MW.