America is currently lagging behind in offshore wind energy production. Europe has been producing it since 1991. China began producing it last year. Yet there are currently no facilities operating in U.S. waters.

Addressing this situation means engaging Americans in a national conversation, and Apex is positioned to play a leading role.

Today, states along the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard rely heavily on fossil and nuclear fuels to meet their energy needs.  While these resources should continue to play an important role in generating energy for the U.S., there are a number of benefits that can be realized by incorporating offshore wind energy into this resource mix.

Some of these benefits include:

• Economic Development Engine – The U.S. boasts outstanding natural wind resources that can launch and support thriving new industries. There are 8,000 parts in every offshore turbine. They must be designed, tested, manufactured, installed and maintained. It is already a multi-billion euro industry in Europe. And there is no reason to believe it will not become as large or larger here.
• Hedging Against Volatile Fuel Prices – By relying on a free and limitless natural resource, wind energy requires zero fuel costs for the life of the project. This means no more dealing with the costs and risks associated with rising fuel and transportation costs for conventional fossil fuel.
• Harnessing A Truly Endless Resource – The abundant offshore wind resources along the Eastern Seaboard and Great Lakes ensures sustainable, stable-price energy that will never be depleted, even as our nation’s energy needs grow.
• Promoting Energy Security – Wind is a 100% locally sourced fuel. And adding it to our nation’s energy portfolio not only provides a new energy option, it prolongs the life of domestically sourced fossil fuels like natural gas and coal.
• Coming “Clean” – Wind power produces absolutely zero emissions. This is good news not only for our environment, but for all of us who could be affected by carbon taxes or by limitations on emissions of carbon and other pollutants.

Jobs and Economic Growth

The development of an offshore wind industry, from research to construction to operations, has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs.  We are just beginning to understand the economic and job growth potential this will bring to many Great Lake and Atlantic states.

Job Creation
Depending on the scale of the project, wind farms have the potential to produce short and long-term jobs in engineering, infrastructure, transmission interconnection, and manufacturing of wind components, as well as operations and maintenance.  Large-scale offshore wind farms constructed over a period of years will lead to the establishment of supply chains for goods and services made up of new companies as well as existing companies.  This provision of goods and services will create clean energy jobs.

Price Stability
Offshore wind energy provides rate payers with stable-priced energy over a 20 – 25 year period.  The majority of the cost of an offshore wind energy project is already invested by the time the wind plant begins to generate electricity, and ongoing maintenance costs are known and predictable.  This allows the owner of the facility to sell energy through long-term contracts at a stable price, thereby avoiding the price volatility associated with conventional fossil fuels.

Domestic Source of Clean Energy
Some states have access to domestic sources of coal and natural gas, but many do not.  Offshore wind provides these states with the ability to produce electricity from a renewable resource along the coast.  For those states that already have an abundance of in-state fossil resources, offshore wind energy provides a counter balance to the price volatility associated with fossil fuels.

Some states have already begun to quantify the economic impacts that could accrue from the development of offshore wind along their shoreline.

Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island, 2010
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation contracted with Levitan & Associates to evaluate the economic impact associated with developing a 28.8 megawatt project off the coast of Rhode Island, as well as a 385 megawatt project in the Rhode Island Sound.

• The overall economic benefits attributable to the 28.8 megawatt project were estimated at $129 million in constant 2010 dollars.
• The economic benefits attributable to the 385 megawatt project were estimated at $893 million in constant 2010 dollars.

Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, 2010

• Development of 3,200 MW of offshore wind potential off Virginia’s coast over the next two decades could create 9,700 to 11,600 career-length jobs.
• A hypothetical 588 MW offshore wind project is estimated to bring $403 million of investment to Virginia’s local economy.

University of Maine, 2010

• Development of 5,000 MW of offshore wind in Maine would create 16,700 new or retained jobs per year for 20 years.

Clemson University, 2007

• During the two-year construction phase of a 480 MW wind farm, the equivalent of 1,881 full-time jobs would be created by direct, indirect, and induced effects.
• The report also predicted that employment will permanently increase by the equivalent of up to 155 full-time jobs over the currently predicted baseline.
• South Carolina’s annual economic output is predicted to increase by as much as $287 million, and annual disposable income is expected to increase by up to $93 million.

Lake Erie Economic Development Corporation (LEEDCo)

• Over an eighteen year period, 1,500 MWs of offshore development in Lake Erie would create and maintain 3,000 jobs in Ohio, induce $2.2 billion in wages, $6.5 billion in sales, and produce $171.5 million in public revenue, both state and local.
• A more ambitious, 5,000 MW build out over the same time period, would create and maintain 8,000 jobs, produce $7.8 billion in wages and salaries, $22.6 billion in sales, and $586.5 million in public revenues. http://www.leedco.org/about-us/leedco-history

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2010
The U.S. Government-sponsored study found that:

• Building 54 GW of offshore wind energy facilities would generate $200 billion in new economic activity and create more than 43,000 permanent, high-paying jobs in manufacturing, construction, engineering, operations, and maintenance.
• To maximize job growth, it will be critical to grow the offshore wind manufacturing sector here in the United States, which currently lags behind other nations in this field.

European Wind Energy Association, 2009
The Association reported that:

• Over 15 jobs are created in the European Union for every MW of installed wind capacity.
• More jobs are created by installing, operating, and maintaining offshore wind turbines than onshore wind projects.
• Currently 41,396 Europeans are employed with offshore wind jobs in 2010.
• By 2030, the European Union expects to host 215,000 offshore wind jobs.
• The largest costs of offshore wind energy are from labor-intensive and high paying job sectors, such as research and development, wind turbine and platform construction, marine transport vessel construction and operation, and overall maintenance.