Today, Turn Forward applauds President Joe Biden’s announcement of the first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. Next month, the United States will hold the region’s first-ever auction for renewable energy leases. This expansion of offshore wind development is expected to power 1.3 million Louisiana and Texas homes and businesses with clean energy.
The announcement came during the president’s visit to the Philly Shipyard to commemorate a key supply chain milestone. The Shipyard’s workers are constructing the first U.S.-built subsea rock installation vessel for wind turbine construction, a prime example of the growing offshore wind supply chain and its opportunities for American businesses and workers.
“President Biden’s action to bring offshore wind energy to the Gulf of Mexico builds on this summer’s historic milestones, with offshore wind’s transformational power coming to the Atlantic, Pacific, and, now, Gulf regions,” said Stephanie McClellan, executive director of Turn Forward. “Continued leadership across sectors will help forge a sustainable path for offshore wind in the Gulf, with community engagement, family-sustaining job creation, strong labor and safety standards, and marine life and coastal resource protections. Today’s action is a historic step down that path.”
With this next expansion of U.S. offshore wind leases comes additional opportunities in the domestic offshore wind supply chain. The vessel being built in the Philly Shipyard will employ more than 1,000 union workers and generate an estimated $125 million of U.S. economic activity each year — and it’s one of 18 shipbuilding projects currently underway in seven different states. In the next several years, the offshore wind industry is expected to create over 77,000 jobs, invest tens of millions of dollars in local economies, and support small businesses and additional supply chains across the country.
Turn Forward is an independent, non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to advancing an ambitious vision for American offshore wind power that meets today’s climate, economic, equity and environmental challenges.
For media inquiries, please reach out to avery@turnforward.org