The offshore wind industry employs 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 its 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 the 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 hard hat, 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 US 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.
