Businesses, Institutions, and Associations Voice Support for Offshore Wind
The economic and environmental cases for offshore wind are clear — New England businesses, institutions, and associations are speaking up in support of responsibly-developed offshore wind!
What are the benefits?
Offshore wind presents a myriad of benefits to the Commonwealth and to the region. Our regional electric grid is at an inflection point. Between 1/6 and 1/3 of all our old coal and oil-fired power plants will retire over the course of the next decade, while our demand for electricity is increasing as we electrify transportation and heating. There is a growing gap between future demand and future supply of electricity–now is the moment when we will choose how to fill that gap.
With high energy demand near shore and shallow water and high winds off our coast, New England is uncommonly well positioned to harness the full potential of offshore wind. If we choose to fill the gap with offshore wind, the economic and workforce benefits would be significant:
- A vibrant offshore wind industry in New England would create thousands of jobs.
- Increased procurements of this renewable resource would save ratepayers billions of dollars.
- Adding a offshore wind to the grid would ensure success of corporate sustainability goals.
- If we act now, we could ensure New England’s position at the forefront of offshore wind energy development in the US and establish the region as a hub for clean energy.
Looking through an environmental lens, in order to achieve our states’ ambitious climate goals and mitigate climate change, we’ll need to install much more offshore wind in New England than we currently have planned. Offshore wind is one piece of the renewable energy puzzle, but because of its generating capacity it is the biggest lever we can pull to combat climate change and meet our climate goals.