Maryland, Virginia & North Carolina Announce New Offshore Wind Partnership

Annapolis, MD -  Today, the Governors of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina announced a new regional partnership that seeks to attract and promote massive clean offshore wind development and thousands of clean energy jobs and billions of dollars to the region. 

The partnership, known as the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Transformative Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Resources (SMART-POWER), commits the three states to collaborate to incentivize the production of needed parts, develop cost-effective supply chains, increase regulatory certainty, and exchange knowledge and best practices.

The Southeast and Mid Atlantic states have immense untapped potential to be an economic hub for clean offshore wind energy. According to the U.S. Energy Department, the Atlantic Coast offshore wind project pipeline is estimated to bolster up to  $57 billion in investments, support over 86,000 jobs, and provide up to $25 billion in economic output by 2030.

The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Senior Campaign Representative David Smedick released the following statement in response: 

“With its more than 3,000 miles of coastline, Maryland is one of the states most vulnerable to dangerous climate disruption. The Maryland General Assembly helped lead the nation in sparking the rush to the offshore wind market by passing the landmark Offshore Wind Energy Act in 2013 and now we need to do everything possible to get turbines in the water. This partnership between Mid-Atlantic States is only the start of unlocking the region’s massive potential for clean affordable offshore wind energy. The region must move quickly to attract investment in this burgeoning industry and help ensure we bring clean energy and family-sustaining, union jobs to Maryland.”