“If you look to your left, there’s a pod of about 20 dolphins off the bow.”
On a sunny day in July 2023, a group of Louisiana state legislators, representatives from state agencies, and individuals from Louisiana-based law firms, businesses, ports, and schools gathered on the deck of a chartered vessel just off the shore of Point Judith, Rhode Island.
The scenery was breathtaking – but this was much more than sightseeing.
This powerhouse group traveled 1,500 miles from their home state of Louisiana to tour Block Island, the nation’s first offshore wind farm. This moment marked the much-anticipated culmination of the Power of Wind Tour – an immersive, educational trip led by the Center for Planning Excellence to bring together bipartisan leaders and stakeholders to learn more about offshore wind and collaborate on Louisiana’s energy future.
The Power of Wind Tour comes at a pivotal moment in energy development, as wind energy is quickly becoming one of the key industries for energy production in the US. The American Clean Power Association reports that wind energy is the largest source of renewable energy in the country, representing over 10% of the nation’s overall energy creation. Almost 25% of all US contracts in offshore wind are already going to businesses in Louisiana and other Gulf states – this is a strong foundation and there is ample room for additional growth here in Louisiana.
“Wind isn’t just an environmental opportunity, it’s a massive economic opportunity,” remarked Lacy McManus of Future Energy, Greater New Orleans. Thanks to our coastal geography, existing infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce, and 70 years of experience in offshore industry, Louisiana is poised to become a leading voice in the offshore wind industry through our manufacturing capabilities and workforce development capacity. In fact, Louisiana companies are already using technologies developed for oil and gas rigs to build the infrastructure needed to operate wind turbines – including the ones we toured in Rhode Island. Louisiana's workforce is also helping to advance new wind projects in Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts, providing surveyors, engineers, and shipbuilders.
Key takeaways for Louisiana from the Power of Wind guest speakers, industry experts, and tour experience include:
Louisiana needs to send a clear signal that we are ready to expand our energy economy with offshore wind by setting goals and policy that provides for enforceable standards and drives market operations.
Port infrastructure and diversification plays a substantial role in all parts of the offshore wind supply chain. Expansion of our ports will be required to accommodate offshore wind infrastructure in the Gulf.
Our existing energy infrastructure needs to be able to accept new sources of clean energy in a way that is reliable, cost-effective, and reduces impacts to communities. We will need proactive planning for connecting underwater cabling from offshore wind installations to our onshore national electric grid.
The needs and concerns of potentially impacted communities will be front and center of a successful effort to develop offshore wind.
No matter your background or skill set; if you’re ready to work, there is a place for you in the offshore wind industry. Building out workforce training around the spectrum of jobs will be critical to our success.
Recognizing the tremendous opportunity for our state, Louisiana's leaders have taken important first steps to lay the groundwork for this opportunity: encouraging the creation of BOEM's Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, establishing the state’s Climate Initiatives Task Force, and launching Louisiana’s Climate Action Plan, the first of its kind in the Gulf South. We’re beginning to see the results of these planning efforts. On August 29, the first-ever leases for offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico opened up for bid off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. The outcome of the auction resulted in RWE, a German company who is one of leading suppliers of renewables worldwide, winning a provisional lease for the Lake Charles Area. This lease area, a size of 102,480 acres, has the potential to generate 1.24 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, which can power nearly 435,400 homes with clean, renewable energy.
With Louisiana’s Climate Action Plan goal of generating 5 GW of offshore wind energy and the forward momentum of the work of the Climate Initiatives Task Force and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, Louisiana is sending the right signals to the offshore wind market. Our innovative and industrious offshore workers are among the best the country has to offer, and now they could have the opportunity to expand their skills and expertise with the construction and operation of a wind farm in their own backyard. If we wish to ride this momentum and maintain our head start in the “wind rush,” we need bipartisan leadership to continue building the policy environment needed to attract investment and optimize development of offshore wind.
For CPEX, a tour of Block Island Wind Farm presented an excellent opportunity to showcase Louisiana’s ingenuity and collaborate with a diverse group of leaders on the exciting possibilities of wind and next steps for our state. As stated by a tour participant, this is in our DNA. Nobody knows the challenges of the Gulf Coast like Louisiana’s offshore workers, and no one is better able to build out this industry and reap the benefits for our workforce, our economy, and our residents. With the power of wind, Louisiana can drive economic growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and inspire other coastal states to follow suit. But to realize this, we have to start with holistic planning and CPEX is here to help support that effort.