North Carolina Offshore Wind Coalition Member Update

North Carolina Offshore Wind Coalition Member Update - Sep 14, 2011

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Executive Order #96: Offshore Wind Economic Development Task Force

On June 30, 2011, Governor Bev Perdue issued Executive Order #96, creating the Offshore Wind Economic Development Task Force. This is an excellent step forward forNorth Carolina and is a great signal of the Governor's support for bringing the offshore wind industry to our state.The Task Force will be made up of 15 members, with 11 appointed by the Governor and 2 each appointed/recommended by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tem. This group will serve as a broad-based gathering spot for information on the costs and benefits of offshore wind to North Carolina, and should provide policy recommendations for the 2012 legislative session.As of September 13th, appointments have not yet been made for the Task Force, but they are expected soon. We will be staying engaged in this group's important work over the coming months.

Offshore Wind Studies Underway in NC

There is an impressive list of professional and academic studies underway related to offshore wind in North Carolina, all of which should prove useful to state leaders when considering policy options for bringing the industry to the state. Below is a list of some of those studies.

Offshore wind economic impact analysis (UNC Center for Sustainable Enterprise)
Supply chain asset mapping (NC Commerce and UNC Center for Sustainable Enterprise)
Tourism Impact Study using visualization and surveys of NC visitors (NC State)
Ports study focused specifically on offshore wind (NC State)
Assessment of transmission requirements for up to 5,000+ MW (NC Transmission Planning Collaborative)
Detailed offshore wind resource assessment work (UNC Marine Sciences)

Recent and Upcoming Speaking Engagements

We continue our education and outreach efforts throughout the state and beyond. Below is a sample of some recent and upcoming events.

U.S. DOE funded webinar on state efforts on offshore wind policy (8/9)
Appearance on NC Public TV to discuss wind energy for NC (8/23)
Presentation to the Brunswick County Commissioners (9/6)
Offshore wind forum sponsored by UNC Wilmington (10/5)
NC highlight session at AWEA Offshore Wind Expo (10/11)

Southeast Regional Efforts of the NCOWC

The offshore wind industry represents enormous economic development opportunities that will span multi-state regions. The Southeastern region has some distinct advantages when it comes to delivering lowest cost solutions to the industry, and North Carolina is well positioned within that region. We believe that collaborating where possible with states in our region (VA, NC, SC, and GA predominantly), we can bring more value to the region as a whole and to NC individually. Below is a list of some of the regional collaboration efforts we already have underway.

Southeast regional wind conference - We are currently working with stakeholders from VA, NC, SC, and GA on conceptual planning for a regional conference to be held in Charlotte sometime around Feb or Mar 2012. The program is currently envisioned to cover both land-based and offshore wind, but will have a particular focus on offshore wind and supply chain opportunities. We are also in discussions with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on how to partner with them on this effort.
Regional supply chain efforts - We are in early discussion with key stakeholders about a regional supply chain effort and message that would highlight the strengths of each state in our region and of the Southeastern region as a whole. As we proceed, this effort may overlap with discussion about the regional conference.
Research collaboration discussions - A conference call is being coordinated for researchers in NC and SC to share information about the offshore wind related research efforts and identify areas for multi-state collaboration. Plans include reaching out to VA and GA researchers in the future.