The Regional Planning Association (RPA), a non-profit civic organization that aims to improve the economic health, environmental resilience, and quality of life of the New York Metropolitan area, recognizes the impact and growth of the offshore wind (OSW) industry in the region. RPA sought to fill the knowledge gap around the challenges and opportunities for communities around OSW transmission, and enlisted Karp Strategies to support the development of a report, entitled Making Offshore Wind Transmission Work for Communities.

Through collaborative research and advisory support, Karp Strategies shared its offshore wind expertise stemming from our firm’s work with developers and government agencies. The team delivered a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals and complexities of the OSW industry, recommendations towards optimizing stakeholder engagement, and an analysis of community benefits agreements for renewable energy projects from around the world to inform the development of the report. Karp Strategies also facilitated introductions to leaders in the industry, enabling the RPA team to gain valuable insight into practices and events in OSW community engagement as they occurred.

The report, released on June 26, 2023, (1) explores current plans for and engagement around transmission development, (2) shares best practices for how developers, communities, and other stakeholders can work together to reduce impacts, and (3) looks to the future to identify challenges and opportunities for offshore wind at the regional and national scales. Read the report: https://rpa.org/work/reports/offshore-wind-transmission