The unprecedented progress of renewable energy development in general and offshore wind specifically has presented opportunities for growth in these industries, the economy, and a significant, optimistic step towards environmental protection.

One key opportunity is the growing supply chain in the offshore wind industry, which the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) notes in a white paper has a projected worth of $70 billion. This will give rise to transformational projects and will harness our nation’s offshore wind potential. 

In Maryland, according to a report commissioned by the state’s Department of Commerce, has the “embedded industrial capability to capitalize on, and perhaps command, the upcoming offshore wind economy that will develop in the Atlantic.” In addition to its strategic location in the Mid-Atlantic region, Maryland’s unmatched level of steel supply capability gives its comparative advantage to become the premier site of shipbuilding operations, wind turbine OEMs and services that are already available in the state. 

Furthermore, Maryland’s commercial deepwater ports are identified as suitable for manufacturing, construction, and commissioning of its own offshore wind farms, and staging the distribution of an offshore wind supply chain industry, thanks to its well-developed transportation system. 

The report also cites Maryland’s robust supply capability for “electronics, composites, engineering, construction and other necessary services from a wide number of potential supply chain participants across the state… The inclusion of these corporations in the supply chain will enable Maryland to catalyze its industry and allow small, or new, firms to expand alongside larger ones as suppliers to the offshore wind value chain.”