Big announcements, including Maryland Governor quadrupling offshore wind goal, underscore momentum and opportunities for U.S. market as Oceantic Network celebrates ten years in its home state
BALTIMORE — Exactly two years after President Biden announced a national target to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, key government and industry leaders joined thousands of stakeholders and supply chain members at the tenth annual International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF), shining a spotlight on the industry’s remarkable growth and issuing a call to action to accelerate progress to capture the vast potential of this renewable energy source.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Kevin Sligh, and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk, were among the leading names that took to the stage to announce new actions aimed at advancing collaboration within the offshore wind industry, driving innovation to address unsolved challenges, and scaling up the domestic manufacturing supply chain.
“We are at an inflection point in our industry and there is no better time or place to bring people together than in the Network’s hometown as we celebrate our tenth anniversary,” said Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of Oceantic Network. “A decade later, we have moved from counting accomplishments one at a time to celebrating our successes a dozen at a time. IPF is a perfect opportunity to supercharge our progress through education, collaboration, and innovation. It’s time to think big and charge forward so we can meet the promise of a clean energy future powered by offshore wind.”
Today’s plenary session featured the following industry announcements and commitments:
- Governor Wes Moore announced that the state of Maryland will set an ambitious goal to quadruple offshore wind energy production from about 2 gigawatts to 8.5 gigawatts of power, enough to power nearly three million homes.
- Deputy Secretary David Turk announced the release of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Energy Strategy to expand and accelerate domestic offshore wind deployment.
- The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced the Phase One winners of the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize which is administered in partnership with the Oceantic Network which aims to accelerate the development of U.S. floating offshore wind technology.
The largest offshore wind conference in North America, more than 4,000 attendees are convening in Baltimore for IPF from March 28 to March 30, 2023 to debate solutions, develop lasting connections, and hear from experts about the most important issues facing the industry today. Other speakers at Wednesday’s IPF included CEOs from U.S. Wind and Ørsted Offshore North America, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration, as well as panelists from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Aker Solutions, GE Renewable Energy, RWE, Rise Light and Power, Shell, Burns & McDonnell, and more.
Tomorrow at IPF, the Network will welcome Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein and other key stakeholders to discuss how the industry can adapt to changing economic pressures and public perceptions that naturally come with more success.
Video of today’s plenary session will be made available to the media upon request.
For more information or to arrange an interview with the Network, contact Melinda Skea
Additional Information:
As a non-profit organization, the Oceantic Network’s driving purpose is to inform, coordinate, and mobilize human ingenuity, enterprise, and labor to take advantage of the urgent need to tap the vast offshore wind and renewable energy resources that lie in the world’s oceans. The collective, coordinated efforts of our 600+ members equip communities and nations to accelerate the transition to clean energy and create economic opportunities.
