Three US states—Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia—have partnered to advance the development of offshore wind projects in the region, and promote the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic US as a hub for offshore wind energy.
The formation of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources (SMART-POWER) by the three states, on October 29, 2020 is expected to provide a framework for the three states to cooperatively promote, develop and expand offshore wind energy. The three states have agreed to form a SMART-POWER leadership team with representatives from each signatory’s jurisdiction that will work to streamline the development of regional offshore wind resources.
Through this partnership, the states have committed to work together to increase regulatory certainty, encourage manufacturing of component parts, reduce project costs via supply chain development, and share information and best practices while promoting synergy between industry and the signatory jurisdictions.
According to the US Department of Energy (DoE), the pipeline of offshore wind projects to be located on the Atlantic Coast is estimated to support USD57 billion in investments and provide up to USD25 billion in economic output by 2030.
REGlobal’s View: By adding multi-state coordination to their individual efforts, the three states will be able to move forward more efficiently to develop their infrastructure and local supply chains to unleash the offshore industry in the US.
