The Future Of U.S. Offshore Wind

To See Offshore Wind Energy’s Future, Look on Shore – in Massachusetts; A former whaling port has been retrofitted to serve the wind industry, a blade-testing center is up and running, and the state has an offshore wind power mandate.

Jan Ellen Spiegel, April 9, 2018 (Inside Climate News)

“…[The U.S. will enter the global offshore wind market in earnest with Massachusetts’ decision on which among three proposed offshore wind projects it wants to move ahead. No matter which are chosen, Massachusetts wins…[because it has already prepared the onshore components for offshore wind, including a major offshore wind-ready port in New Bedford, a wind turbine blade testing center in Charlestown and workforce training initiatives…[It also has the] first-in-the-nation offshore wind energy mandate…[which] requires the state's utilities to have long-term contracts for 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power by June 2027..[The competitive solicitation] includes proposals from Deepwater Wind, Bay State Wind and Vineyard Wind…[All three have agreed] to use New Bedford's Marine Commerce Terminal, which opened in 2015…[The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)] estimates that just the existing leased areas off New England and New York can support about 7,600 megawatts of power generation…[The estimated 8,000 megawatts of offshore wind that could be developed in the northeast by 2030] could result in the creation of nearly 40,000 jobs…” click here for more

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