As offshore wind energy expands on the East Coast and beyond, advocates see it not only as a cleaner power resource and burgeoning new industry, but also as a 21st century model to deliver environmental and economic justice to nearby communities that have not benefited—and are even at risk—from past energy investments in their midst.
With more than 35,000 MW of offshore wind at various development levels, says the U.S. Energy Dept., and a Biden administration goal to deploy 30,000 MW by 2030, low-income and heavily minority communities are at ground zero as construction of supporting facilities and infrastructure get under way.