Maine Governor’s Energy Office releases its Offshore Wind Roadmap

Portland, Maine, USA, downtown city skyline at dusk. Photo by Sean Pavone.

Last month, Maine’s Governor’s Energy Office released its Offshore Wind Roadmap, which will serve as the state’s guiding document for offshore wind strategy over the coming decade. The publication results from 18 months of public process led by an advisory committee comprising State agencies and energy, economic, fisheries, wildlife, science, and environmental leaders. A federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant supported this work.

Karp Strategies, under the leadership of Xodus and in partnership with VHB and BW Research Partners, contributed to this work by conducting a supply chain and workforce analysis. The goal of this analysis was to determine the ecosystem of offshore wind-related businesses across the state, as well as the challenges and opportunities they face. From this analysis, Karp Strategies recommended policies that help existing Maine businesses overcome barriers to entry as they relate to the offshore wind supply chain. Specifically, we highlighted opportunities and best practices for recruiting new offshore wind-related companies to Maine and helped develop tools to build partnerships between developers and local suppliers that focus on supporting the growth of small and M/W/DBE businesses, workforce development pipelines, and local economic development.

As offshore wind continues to develop in the United States, similar roadmaps will become essential to responsible, effective, and sustainable economic development. Presently, individual developers are responsible for submitting plans for locally sourcing employees and materials for their projects. A state-authored guide on bolstering these supply chains would serve to benefit both developers by easing “look local first” challenges, as well as invite more businesses into an industry from which they might otherwise feel excluded.

Similar to Maine, many other states consider offshore wind a major opportunity to grow their economy and foster innovation. These opportunities create a need for new guidelines, either regulatory or not that provide mechanisms for legislators and developers alike to ensure benefits are made for and provided to community members in the vicinity of an offshore wind project. As these supply chains and related systems are built out, the radius of benefits should expand in a way that eventually benefits states that might not have direct access to offshore wind. This could take the form of centralized manufacturing in middle America or training offshore workers in states that don’t have as many lease areas so developers can contract them in other states.

As the offshore wind industry grows in the Northeast and throughout the country, the need for suppliers and workforce members will rise in tandem with the amount of new offshore wind projects. To be ready for these new demands and to enable states to take advantage of related economic benefits, there is a pressing need for more studies like Maine’s Offshore Wind Roadmap to equip stakeholders to seize offshore wind opportunities when they present themselves.

Karp Strategies, MRV Group and the Ampersand Group Announce Partnership

On February 22, 2023, Karp Strategies and MRV Group, and The Ampersand Group announced the launch of a nationwide series to uplift small and diverse business enterprise involvement in the growing offshore wind industry and clean energy more broadly.

Led by two small/diverse businesses in the offshore wind and clean energy space, the partnership brings together Karp Strategies, a New York-based, equity-driven WBE/DBE/SBE - certified economic development and analysis consultancy, and MRV Group, a New York-based supplier diversity and development consultancy, alongside The Ampersand Group, a strategy firm that promotes cross-sector partnerships to foster regenerative economies.

The new initiative comes at a critical moment for the clean energy industry. As the rapidly evolving industry continues to grow in the United States, small, diverse business participation—and harnessing diverse expertise—will be crucial to its success. Yet, despite the critical role they play in the industry, small/diverse businesses experience many hurdles in securing their seat at the table.

This is where the Karp Strategies, MRV Group, and Ampersand Group partnership comes in.

In 2023, the partnership will kick off the new initiative with eight networking events for small/diverse businesses as well as offshore wind and other clean energy providers. Four of these events will take the form of state clean energy diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) days that will connect small/diverse firms across the country with prime firms and energy providers. These DEIJ days will bolster the case for S/DBE involvement in offshore wind and clean energy, bringing a laser focus to equity and inclusion within clean energy, through panels, presentations and discussion. An additional four networking events will be held in advance of major national clean energy conferences to connect small businesses casually to skillshare, troubleshoot, and strategize their entrance to and growth within the offshore wind space. Together these initial networking opportunities will provide a robust offering of events for small/diverse businesses to connect and seek support as they find their footing in the offshore wind and broad clean energy industry.

As Karp CEO & Managing Principal Rebecca Karp shares, “Participation of small and diverse businesses will be crucial to the success of the offshore wind industry, and really the whole clean energy landscape in the United States. Standing up a new industry within the blue economy isn’t easy, and ensuring diverse voices are in the room from strategy to execution will be one of the most important elements of its success. Together, we have the opportunity to shape what this industry will look like, who benefits, and how we can lead with DEIJ at the forefront.”

As offshore wind takes off up and down the east coast (MA, RI, NY, NJ, MD, VA, NC, CT), on the west coast (CA) and in the south (LA, TX), more attention is being paid than ever to coalition-building efforts and helping to overcome uncertainty in local communities around clean energy technologies, from offshore wind to solar and hydrogen power.

Ensuring that community benefit agreements are effective—that jobs and educational opportunities go to where they’re needed, and that voices are meaningfully heard—will be a key element to moving offshore wind and clean energy technologies more broadly from the realm of ‘big idea’’ to a multi-billion dollar economic powerhouse and path forward for the nation’s energy-independent future. Successfully doing so means engaging small/diverse professional services firms, along with construction firms and trades people. Engagement efforts must seek to raise awareness of industry opportunities and ready firms and the workforce to complete the critical trainings and certifications they must undergo to be hired in the clean energy arena.

As Glenn O. Vickers II, Managing Director at MRV Group explains, “Exceeding climate policy local content mandates with both international and domestic public-private stakeholders is a task that has to be led with meaningful and measurable deliverables for American businesses. We look to continue to share full comprehension of the development timelines of these projects to save small businesses and local non-profits valuable time and resources to properly navigate the clean energy industry.”

The Karp Strategies, MRV Group, and the Ampersand Group partnership, organized under the National Supplier Diversity Institute, represents a strategic collaboration that leverages resources and networks to propel inclusive supply chains and workforce development in the renewable energy industry. The firms’ work within the Institute drives a supplier diversity training network, and advances opportunities and capacity building for small and diverse sellers with public-private buyers. Through business development pathways and resource sharing opportunities to peers breaking into the industry, the partnership will work to uplift small, diverse businesses and help them establish themselves within the clean energy industry.

“The renewable energy industry opens the door for small and diverse businesses to be at the forefront of this industrial revolution—providing opportunities to build sustainable economic infrastructures that equitably bridge enterprise and community development—shaping the future of the energy sector for generations to come,” shares Angelé Doyne, Managing Partner at the Ampersand Group.

The partnership’s announcement marks an exciting beginning to Karp Strategies, MVR, and the Ampersand Group’s collaborative work in this crucial industry.

An initial calendar of upcoming networking events is below; more details and additional dates to follow.

Networking events:

• March 27, 6:30 PM: Baltimore, MD networking reception in advance of IPF

• April 18, 6:00 PM: Washington, D.C networking reception in advance of ACP Capitol Hill

• May - TBD: Sacramento CA in association with Pacific Offshore Wind Summit (tentative)

• May 21, 6:00 PM: New Orleans, LA networking reception in advance of ACP CLEANPOWER

DEIJ State Days:

• May 2, 11:00 AM: Raleigh, NC

• June 15, 11:00 AM: Philadelphia, PA

• September 19, 11:00 AM: Houston, TX

• September 21, 11:00 AM: New Orleans, LA

To learn more about these opportunities, including attendance and sponsorship, please visit https://www.nationalsupplierdiversityinstitute.com/

Stay tuned for additional information and announcements coming soon as the partnership works to develop an inclusive economy.

New Bedford State Pier Redevelopment Moves Forward

New Bedford Harbor

In December 2022, MassDevelopment announced its official recommendation of Taber’s Wharf Partners to redevelop the New Bedford State Pier in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This recommendation follows a competitive RFP process held in 2022. It draws on suggestions from a site and feasibility analysis conducted in 2020 by Karl F. Seidman Consulting Services in collaboration with Karp Strategies and Jacobs Engineering Group.

Karp Strategies’ economic development practice centers on developing strategies that are forward-thinking, actionable, and based on a nuanced understanding of the local community, market, and historical conditions. We are thrilled to see our economic development work contribute to the advancement of reinvestment plans for this important facility.

The New Bedford State Pier is an 8.5-acre waterfront site adjacent to New Bedford’s downtown. Its current uses include docking for fishing vessels, a busy passenger ferry terminal, some break-bulk cargo, marine support services, and government offices. Despite this activity, the State Pier remains underutilized relative to its capacity.

Karp Strategies first began our work at the New Bedford State Pier in 2016, collaborating with Karl F. Seidman Consulting Services and Urban Focus LLC to provide a fiscal and operations analysis of four State Piers across Massachusetts. This analysis supported future policy and use decisions made by MassDevelopment, the Commonwealth’s economic development agency, and the Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council (SEC). Following the analysis and delivery of a comprehensive final report, MassDevelopment took over operations and management of the New Bedford State Pier in 2017 and began repositioning this working waterfront for future economic development opportunities.

In 2020, MassDevelopment sought a deeper use analysis specific to the New Bedford State Pier in order to activate expanded maritime and industrial operations and increase revenue. Building off our initial 2016 work, Karp Strategies analyzed the State Pier’s current uses and five possible future revenue generation opportunities to inform and drive a comprehensive economic development strategy. Our team evaluated the project context by conducting a planning and baseline analysis, examining existing area economic and demographic conditions, and assessing community assets and needs. This research informed a full analysis of the feasibility of locating offshore wind support services on the State Pier, including extensive research and stakeholder interviews examining the offshore wind supply chain, timeline, workforce impacts, and development risks.

The redevelopment proposal and agreement between Taber’s Wharf Partners and MassDevelopment draws on the findings from this analysis and marks a significant step forward in building a thriving economic development ecosystem moored to the State Pier. The proposed redevelopment will include offshore wind support services, seafood auction and processing, street-side retail and restaurants, and other marine industrial activities—uses informed by Karp Strategies’ feasibility analysis. The two parties have entered a Provisional Designated Developer Agreement, and redevelopment planning will begin this year.

Through our community and economic development practice, Karp Strategies works closely with clients like MassDevelopment to analyze, develop, and implement community and economic development strategies, policies, and strategic plans. We believe in establishing diverse and inclusive workforces, tapping into the critical role of small and minority-owned businesses in project supply chains, and sustainably leveraging and retrofitting existing assets—including piers like New Bedford—to meet the needs of the 21st-century economy.

Read the full press release about the New Bedford State Pier partnership below.

https://www.massdevelopment.com/news/step-toward-development-at-state-pier/