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Offshore Wind Roadmap Being Developed For Louisiana

DENR seeking input through Offshore Wind Advisory Committee

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) has announced the first scheduled meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Louisiana Offshore Wind Roadmap during the first week of September.

The Advisory Committee is a critical part of the efforts by DENR, working in partnership with the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) and Jacobs, to develop a comprehensive Offshore Wind Roadmap for the state. To ensure public access and participation in the process, the meeting will be held virtually via Zoom from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Click here to register for the Advisory Committee meeting or visit: https://tinyurl.com/yc4ubphr. The meeting agenda, link to submit public comments, and other relevant information can be found at louisianaoffshorewind.org.

The intent of the Offshore Wind Roadmap is to serve as a strategic guide for harnessing the state's potential in the offshore wind industry, capitalizing on emerging opportunities for quality jobs and new economic investment in a growing energy market. This roadmap will be engineered to address various aspects of offshore wind development, including shared use of state-owned waters for different interests, implementation of best practices in wind power generation and related regulation, strategies to develop a workforce for both direct wind energy projects and related manufacturing and support industries, supply chain analysis, port assessment and economic considerations tied to building a comprehensive wind energy industry in the state.

"Louisiana has a long and proud history as a provider of energy for this nation. In particular, we have generations of experience in the engineering and day-to-day work required to succeed in the challenging offshore environment,” said DENR Secretary Tyler Gray. “Offshore wind is set to expand Louisiana’s ‘all of the above’ energy portfolio with multiple resources at our disposal in the Gulf of Mexico. With diverse energy resources offshore, we’ll become more energy independent, and our state is set to grow as an offshore wind manufacturing hub for the world.” 

Over the next two years, the Advisory Committee will serve as the guiding body to ensure the development and implementation of the Offshore Wind Roadmap, encompassing a spectrum of significant factors at play for the growth of the industry. Advisory Committee members will specifically be asked to review, advise and provide feedback on study findings, and collaborate with subject-matter-specific working groups as needed.

Gray noted that Louisiana has already approved two wind lease agreements in state waters and hosts the shipyard and workers who built the first-ever American-made support vessel for offshore wind operations.

“East Coast wind projects have been looking to Louisiana companies and workers to get their projects going for years now,” Gray said. “We are looking toward a future where we can put them to work closer to home, as well.”

“With the emergence of offshore wind development across the United States, it's an exciting time to plan for Louisiana's trajectory in this market. The Offshore Wind Roadmap presents an opportunity to design a long-term offshore wind strategy for the state. Through the power of planning, we will have robust public engagement and take a holistic approach so that Louisiana can make informed decisions and put the right policies and programs in place to command this space,” said Camille Manning-Broome, President and CEO of CPEX.

CPEX, a statewide planning and policy non-profit organization, is assisting DENR in managing the development of the Offshore Wind Roadmap, providing its expertise in long-term planning and public outreach and engagement to ensure that resident and stakeholder voices are heard and integrated into the plan.

 DENR has also contracted Jacobs, a global professional services firm with experience in offshore wind planning to develop the technical studies for the Offshore Wind Roadmap, including gap analyses of state assets, addressing workforce and supply chain considerations and evaluating environmental impacts.

“Jacobs is committed to ensuring our communities have enough energy to meet demand and safeguarding power systems against physical and other threats across all end markets,” said Jacobs’ Vice President Fiachra Ó Cléirigh. “Drawing upon our extensive experience with Louisiana’s critical state infrastructure, we’re taking a comprehensive approach to designing an enduring energy independence and diversification program using offshore wind technologies. This project not only generates new job opportunities but also fosters reliance on locally available and sustainable resources.”

 Contact: Patrick Courreges, 225-342-0510

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