NOWI Inks MoU with OPITO to Support US Offshore Wind Market

May 3, 2022, by Adnan Memija

UK-headquartered OPITO and National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI), based at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which could support thousands of new jobs in the growing US offshore wind market.

Under the MoU signed at the IPF conference in New Jersey, the two companies agreed to cooperate to optimise workforce development and provide skills and safety training for the New Bedford Port cluster in South Massachusetts and its pipeline of offshore wind projects.

Last month, Foss Maritime announced that the company is partnering with Cannon Street Holdings LLC (CSH) to develop the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal at the Port of New Bedford to support offshore wind projects off Massachusetts and the US northeastern coast seaboard.

The new terminal will provide storage and laydown yards for equipment and materials, berth facilities for tug and barge operations, and host crew transfer vessel (CTV) and service operation vessel (SOV) support services.

The terminal will also offer new office space for project teams and a marine coordination centre for technicians involved in offshore wind projects.

The US Department of Energy estimates that 43,000 new jobs will be created in the offshore wind market by 2030.

In response to this, OPITO created its Energy Transition team in 2021 to lead the development of innovative workforce standards, training, and products to support the energy transition and decarbonisation agenda, the company said.

“The National Offshore Wind Institute at Bristol Community College is very proud of its industrial partnerships. The relationship with OPITO is one of several long-term arrangements we are looking to put in place with key players in the offshore wind sector,” said Jennifer Menard, VP of Economic & Business Development at NOWI.

“It will also complement the long-standing relationship we have with our development partner, Maersk Training, as we look to establish the NOWI as the pre-eminent offshore wind workforce development center of excellence on the east coast of the U.S.”

In August 2020, Bristol Community College entered a global partnership with Maersk Training to develop new courses for students seeking employment in the offshore wind industry.