Offshore wind can bring $25 billion investment to US, industry report says

The U.S. offshore wind industry has boosted the nation’s maritime industry and could deliver returns on “a $25 billion wave of supply chain investments that has fueled significant growth in shipbuilding and steel production,” according to a report from the Oceantic Network.

“Offshore wind is working, and so is America,” declares a title on the group’s online videos and report, issued Jan. 15 as wind power developers and their allies braced for president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to shut down all projects when he is inaugurated Jan. 20.

For months industry advocates have pushed back by publicizing the economic effects of ramping up offshore wind. The report, “Offshore Energy at Work,” stresses the nationwide impact on construction and industry jobs.

“The U.S. shipbuilding industry is responding to the call of offshore wind with 20 shipyards in 11 states now building and retrofitting vessels to support the construction and maintenance of projects for decades to come,” according to one video presentation in the report. “In total, the offshore wind industry has injected $1.7 billion worth of new orders into shipyards across the country, spawning over 3,000 new jobs.”

“The American offshore wind energy industry is creating thousands of jobs across a national supply chain, driving billions in supply chain investments, and delivering reliable, homegrown energy to meet our country’s growing power needs while ensuring energy security for decades,” said Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic Network. “This report tells a story of success, momentum, American ingenuity, and grit. Offshore wind energy is creating skilled jobs, revitalizing once-forgotten economies, and offering new opportunities for personal growth and economic prosperity, proving that when offshore wind is working, so is America.”

To develop their report, Oceantic authors collected interviews, photos and video showcasing companies and workers involved in almost 2,000 supplier contracts.

The push by industry advocates reflects their hope that economic benefits – across states dominated politically by Republicans as well as Democrats – can stave off dramatic action by Trump.

At a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, Doug Burgum, Trump’s nominee for Interior secretary, appeared to leave open the possibility that some offshore wind projects underway can continue.

 “If they make sense and they’re already in law, then they’ll continue,” Burgum told Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, the Associated Press reported. “I think the key is, and I think President Trump’s been very clear in his statements, that he’s concerned about the significant amount of tax incentives that have gone toward some forms of energy.”

Meanwhile activists opposed to wind developments are pushing to hold the incoming administration to Trump’s earlier promises to strike at offshore wind “on Day One” of his administration. In California, the opposition group REACT Alliance plans a Jan. 18 rally at Morro Bay demanding that Trump “End It!”