Even within EEZ, uncertainty over rights provided by customary international law as opposed to UNCLOS is stymieing offshore wind power development

If the US fails to ratify UNCLOS, it can still build offshore turbines within the EEZ. The problem is that there would be no internationally recognized governing law. Unsettled law leads to poor economic efficiency. The lack of a governing law in the EEZ limits the incentive to develop offshore wind projects. Current offshore projects within the territorial waters already face uncertainty in U.S. law, which has been a significant obstacle to their success. Uncertainty in the international law applicable to the EEZ may be too great a risk for developers. Developers have no reason to believe the United States would protect their interests over diplomatic relations or shipping concerns. UNCLOS provides, at the very least, a suggestion for how those disputes should be resolved and an indication for how they can be avoided, so constructing a coherent approach to developing offshore wind in the EEZ is possible.