The Governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, and the Mass Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) have announced USD 4.2 million in funding to 20 projects that will prepare workers for offshore wind and maritime careers, and support research on fisheries, wildlife, and the marine environment.
The funding is awarded through two MassCEC programs: USD 1.7 million through the Offshore Wind Works program and USD 2.4 million through the Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis program.
''Offshore wind means good jobs, more clean energy and real economic opportunity for Massachusetts,'' said Governor Healey.
''We’re investing in the workers who will build this industry and the research needed to develop it responsibly and protect our fisheries, wildlife and marine environment.''
Through Offshore Wind Works, USD 1.7 million will support eight projects in building a Massachusetts workforce that is capable of planning, deploying, operating, maintaining, and manufacturing components for offshore wind projects. Many of the skills and credentials developed through these projects are transferable across clean energy, maritime, construction, and other port-based industries—strengthening workforce resilience beyond offshore wind alone. Since launching in 2018, Offshore Wind Works has awarded USD 22 million to 35 grantees, leveraging more than USD 11 million in additional cost-sharing.
''These two efforts work in tandem: one grows the talent pipeline for offshore wind projects, the other expands the knowledge base the industry needs for the long haul,'' said Ben Downing, Mass Clean Energy Center CEO.
''Investing in both is how Massachusetts prepares the way for future accelerated offshore wind deployment.''
This year’s awards will fund projects across three focus areas: Workforce Training & Upskilling; Training Equipment & Infrastructure; and Career Exploration & Education. The projects are expected to leverage an estimated USD 892,241 in additional cost-sharing and in-kind contributions from grantees and their partners.
The 2026 Offshore Wind Works awardees are:
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy: USD 260,000 for Workforce Training & Upskilling
- Funding will be used to establish the equipment, certifications, and instructional capacity needed to deliver Helicopter Underwater Escape Training.
- Partners: RelyOn USA
- TITAN Structural Group LLC: USD 500,000 for Workforce Training & Upskilling and Training Equipment & Infrastructure
- Funding will be used to equip trades workers with offshore wind safety and technical certifications.
- Partners: Ironworkers; IBEW; IUPAT union affiliates
- UMass Dartmouth: USD 250,000 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to add 30 paid internship opportunities to the offshore wind internship program.
- UMass Boston: USD 249,243 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to develop and deliver ten learning modules covering offshore wind topics ranging from engineering and aquaculture to ports and supporting infrastructure.
- Partners: Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW)
- STEAM the Streets: USD 209,330 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to launch a statewide campaign to increase public understanding of offshore wind and clean energy careers.
- Partners: Environmental League of Massachusetts; Boston Public Schools; New Bedford Public Schools; MassHire South Shore; MassHire Greater New Bedford
- UMass Amherst: USD 141,427 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to expand the Career Access Scholarship Program, enhance workforce training with a focus on transferable skills, and foster new partnerships between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia.
- Partners: MANSA Consulting; Salem Alliance for the Environment; Spirit Advisory
- MANSA Consulting, Inc: USD 100,000 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to expand the WindWorks campaign to increase awareness of offshore wind career opportunities and connect participants to introductory offshore wind training.
- Partners: Bristol Community College; IWNL Energy
- Trustees of Tufts University: USD 40,000 for Career Exploration & Education
- Funding will be used to publish findings on offshore wind workers' experiences, safety culture, and working conditions, while highlighting industry best practices through a case study.
Through the Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis program, USD 2.5 million will support 12 projects in advancing research that informs the responsible development and operation of offshore wind in Southern New England and the Gulf of Maine. Each project has a direct connection to a Massachusetts-based business or research institution, a Massachusetts-based intern, or both. Collectively, these awards will create at least seven paid internships for students attending Massachusetts universities, giving early-career researchers hands-on experience in offshore wind science.
This year’s awards will address five topic areas: Fisheries; Habitat & Wildlife; Regional Transmission Planning; Regional Monitoring; and Science Communication.
The 2026 Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis awardees are:
- New England Aquarium: USD 246,075 for Fisheries research
- Funding will be used to research how offshore wind development is affecting recreational and for-hire fishing activity in Southern New England.
- Partners: Pelagic Strategies
- UMass Dartmouth
- USD 280,501 for Fisheries and Habitat research
- Funding will be used to continue a study focused on understanding offshore wind impacts on cod spawning grounds in Southern New England.
- USD 199,589 for Regional Monitoring
- Funding will be used to create a regional data-collection strategy to guide future monitoring and inform responsible offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine.
- Partners: Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative & Northeast Regional Ocean Council (separate $30,000 award to support this project)
- Center for Coastal Studies: USD 284,642 for Habitat & Wildlife research
- Funding will be used to evaluate the ability of ocean circulation models to predict zooplankton aggregations to inform methods for understanding potential offshore wind effects on North Atlantic right whale prey.
- Partners: Integral Consulting
- atdepth MRV Inc.: USD 252,000 for Habitat & Wildlife research
- Funding will be used to create a digital twin model of the Gulf of Maine to study potential effects of floating offshore wind turbines on ocean processes and North Atlantic right whale prey.
- Tufts University: USD 269,910 for Habitat & Wildlife research
- Funding will be used to develop an implementation framework for incorporating nature-inclusive design into offshore wind projects.
- Partners: Outer Harbor Consulting; Responsible Offshore Science Alliance; Nomadic Foundry
- JASCO: USD 246,746 for Habitat & Wildlife research
- Funding will be used to examine existing offshore wind wildlife protection measures using quantitative modeling to assess risk reduction and implementation costs.
- Ocean Tech Services, LLC: USD 77,414 for Habitat & Wildlife research
- Funding will be used to install a Motus radio telemetry receiving station at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Air-Sea Interaction Tower, re-establishing important offshore detection capability for migratory birds and bats.
- Power Advisory LLC: USD 186,995 for Regional Transmission
- Funding will be used to build on existing offshore wind energy transmission studies to investigate interregional transmission scenarios for New England, New York, and Atlantic Canada.
- Partners: Johns Hopkins University; UMass Amherst
- Responsible Offshore Science Alliance: USD 149,997 for Science Communication
- Funding will be used to communicate results of existing offshore wind fisheries research to Massachusetts fishing communities and the general public.
- Partners: Fat Moon Creative
- Biodiversity Research Institute: USD 149,206 for Science Communication
- Funding will be used to translate and communicate offshore wind science and research into accessible, stakeholder-informed materials for Massachusetts and beyond.
- Partners: Consensus Building Institute
- CBN Media, LLC: USD 125,000 for Science Communication
- Funding will be used to increase public understanding of marine life interactions with offshore wind infrastructure in Southern New England.