The White House detailed an ambitious plan to expand wind farms along the East Coast and jump-start the country’s nascent offshore wind industry, saying it hoped to trigger a massive clean-energy effort in the fight against climate change.

Chief Strategy Officer, Nicole Ryf, and Director of Offshore Wind, Matt Smith, of the Hampton Roads Alliance recently completed the Business Network for Offshore Wind's Foundation 2 Blade training. The Alliance will use information from the training to identify business development opportunities and help local companies understand where they fit in the offshore wind supply chain.

The White House held a landmark Offshore Wind Roundtable, highlighting the industry’s central role in the Biden Administration’s plans to create jobs and advance renewable energy development. The White House announced goals to install 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and to finalize reviews of at least 16 Construction and Operations Plans by 2025.

The US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration is encouraging states and port authorities to apply for $230 million in discretionary grant funding for port and intermodal infrastructure-related projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program.

Congresswoman Elaine Luria announced her creation of the Congressional Offshore Wind Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers focused on improving offshore wind technology, investing in the offshore wind workforce, and making the United States a clean energy leader.

The Hampton Roads Alliance has commissioned an offshore wind supply chain study for the Hampton Roads area in Virginia. The assessment will be used to” build out” the US offshore wind industry in Hampton Roads and identify key opportunities for economic expansion. The Hampton Roads Alliance has partnered with Xodus Group and BW Research to conduct the study.

US based Crowley and Danish shipping company ESVAGT are forming a partnership to meet the need for service vessels for the rapidly developing offshore wind energy market in the US. The venture will work to develop a best-in-class design and deliver wind-dedicated, US flag Service Operation Vessels.

American offshore wind farms, of which there are 17 in the works for the Atlantic Ocean, are no longer far off on the horizon. The overall magnitude of this emerging renewable energy industry is starting to take shape.

The federal government released its final environmental assessment of what might be the first large-scale offshore wind project in the US. That matters for that project, certainly. But more importantly, it matters for the many offshore wind projects at earlier stages, along the East Coast and elsewhere.