Oceantic Network Launches Initiatives to Showcase National Impact of Offshore Wind Industry

Oceantic Network is shining a spotlight on the U.S. offshore wind workforce with two initiatives that tell the stories of the workers and companies that make up the industry supply chain now spanning more than two-thirds of the country. This summer, Oceantic Network’s CEO Liz Burdock and staff began visiting member companies across the country to showcase the jobs being created in building an offshore wind industry as part of the “U.S. Offshore Wind Jobs Tour.” The member-based nonprofit has also launched the “I Am Offshore Wind” social media campaign, which aims to highlight the many diverse roles, achievements, and personal journeys of those working across the U.S. offshore wind supply chain. Together, these initiatives will showcase the offshore wind’s impact in creating thousands of American jobs, driving $24 billion in new supply chain investments, and delivering clean, renewable wind energy to homes and businesses.

The offshore wind industry is employing a variety of workers, including steelworkers, painters, laborers, engineers, technicians, electricians, welders, and more. Through visiting work sites across the nation, Oceantic Network has showcased their efforts this summer in a series of blog posts and a newsletter on LinkedIn, as well as a webpage that documents each stop. Examples include:

• The story of Edison Chouest, a 100+ year old Louisiana shipyard that is now building vessels for the offshore wind industry
• A deep dive into the 50+ vessels ordered for the offshore wind industry from Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and New England shipyards, with steel procured from states like Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• A visit to the Port of Providence, which is bustling with activity spurred by the construction of the Revolution Wind project, and the Port of Davisville, where a long-term operations and maintenance hub is being set up
• A spotlight on how offshore wind development is driving and funding vital whale and other marine life research

Now, the Network invites the public to share this rapidly growing clean energy industry and highlight the various job opportunities available for Americans across the country with the #IAmOffshoreWind social media campaign. The campaign encourages individuals to post a short video describing their work in the offshore wind industry. Workers across the nation are proud of their contributions to this American industry, whether they wear a hardhat, work on engineering calculations, conduct environmental surveys, captain a vessel, fly a helicopter, or work in one of the other thousands of offshore wind-related jobs.

“Offshore wind is working, and so is America,” said Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of Oceantic Network. “With a thriving supply chain spanning 37 states, it is now more important than ever to highlight the collective success and future opportunity of the U.S. offshore wind industry. It is time to showcase the thousands of American workers behind the projects that are putting steel in the water and delivering clean energy to their communities.”

To aid participants, the Network created a social media toolkit with editable graphics and tips for recording and posting content. When posting, participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #IAmOffshoreWind. More information and the toolkit can be found online.

Oceantic Network | https://oceantic.org/