Offshore wind energy and job growth: When will New Hampshire make its move?

PORTSMOUTH — With a gentle breeze blowing through and the Sarah Long Bridge in the backdrop, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire, gathered with state leaders at the New Hampshire State Port Authority to discuss the state’s role in developing potential offshore wind renewable energy generation. 

The Vineyard Wind Project, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the country off Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, recently gained federal approval last month to begin construction. Pappas said now is the time to think about the future that can be created in New Hampshire.

  'A significant milestone':Feds give final approval for Vineyard Wind

“We can be moving in the right direction in terms of protecting our environment and building the workforce of tomorrow,” he said. “These things are not mutually exclusive, and I think the conversation around offshore wind helps highlight the way that we can put all these incentives and priorities in the same direction.”

In late March, the Biden administration unveiled its intention to expand the use of offshore wind farms along the Eastern Seaboard, hoping to install 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. 

The White House said the plan would create more than 40,000 jobs directly tied to offshore wind and an additional 33,000 jobs in “communities supported by offshore wind activity” by the target year. Implementing the plan would allow for 10 million American homes to be powered for a year, as well as seeing 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions erased in that period, the administration stated.

How will New Hampshire get involved with wind power?

At the request of Gov. Chris Sununu in 2019, New Hampshire formed a partnership with Maine and Massachusetts through the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to begin identifying areas for potential offshore wind farm locations as approved by the federal government. 

'Huge opportunity here':NH looks to offshore wind turbines for renewable energy

Those locations would be in the Gulf of Maine, according to Michael Behrmann, the state’s offshore wind industry development director. That group, however, has not reconvened since December 2019 due to COVID-19, he said.

Officials said they have previously discussed 800-foot-tall wind turbines located 10 to 20 miles away from the New Hampshire coastline in a multi-billion-dollar project.

The expectations are high for job growth once offshore wind energy locations are identified in the Gulf of Maine and approved at the federal level. Behrmann said tens of thousands of jobs could be created across the predevelopment, construction and operational phases.

Construction of a regional offshore wind farm likely wouldn’t begin for another seven years, he estimated, though he said he is pushing for the tri-state task force to meet at some point this year to begin identifying potential locations for a project.

That could occur in the next year-and-a-half rather than two or three years out from now, he noted, because of the current push by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Biden's administration.

“I’m hoping that process won’t take as long as it historically has,” he said. “But that said, we want to make sure that these are good locations that (take) full consideration of the different industries and stakeholders, obviously including fisheries and the fishing community.”

Looking at the Vineyard Wind Project, located over 15 miles off the state coastline and aiming to generate enough energy for over 400,000 Bay State homes and businesses, Behrmann said it’s helpful to have a regional example to compare to as New Hampshire develops its own plans. 

The Vineyard Wind Project will cost $2.8 billion, though the project’s website says that it will save approximately $3.7 billion over the life of the project and reduce emissions by 1.68 million metric tons each year, equal to taking 325,000 cars off the road. 

What are the opportunities for New Hampshire?

State Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, who chairs the state’s Commission to Study Offshore Wind and Port Development, said the opportunity to create jobs is a driving factor for the potential Gulf of Maine project in addition to its environmental impact. 

In the supply chain necessary to manufacture the wind turbines, Watters estimated it could require between 6,000 and 8,000 workers, and the process could also allow for internships and apprenticeships for the state’s community college and public university students.

Establishing offshore wind would also coincide with the decommissioning of the Seabrook nuclear power plant, which is licensed to continue operating until 2030.

“So it is really essential for a kind of resilience and also a sustainability of our energy supply, particularly as we electrify our economy, whether it's transportation or buildings to make sure we meet our climate goals,” he said. “But if you come for renewable energy, you stay for the jobs, right?”

Pappas said the process is just beginning, occurring at the same time the federal government is discussing the cost of a federal infrastructure package. 

“Obviously that’s going to be a long conversation that I think takes us through the summer and into the fall, but we really want to get this right for the future of our country,” he said.