The offshore wind industry could provide an average of 2000 jobs a year for the US state of Maine, according to a new report.
The report, ‘The Maine Jobs Project: A Guide to Creating Jobs in Offshore Wind’, covers positions created in manufacturing and software development, as well as the supply chain and jobs generated by the sector’s investment in the local community.
It said the jobs would support the expected building of 7.5GW of offshore wind capacity.
The report was produced by the American Jobs Project in partnership with the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine, the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine and BVG Associates.
Strategies are also included in the paper that would build up “critical assets” for industry growth.
These include setting up a Maine planning office that would provide technical assistance, economic analysis and coordinate resources for state and municipal planning needs.
A Northeast Offshore Wind Innovation Center should also be established to coordinate regional research and development, foster stakeholder engagement and leverage investment from federal and state governments.
An Offshore Wind Business Development Fund would help businesses overcome barriers to market entry, the report said.
Image: reNEWS
Maine ‘could reap offshore bounty’
By EBS