The Williamsburg City Council held its work session on June 6 at the Stryker Center and on the agenda was an update from the Hampton Roads Alliance. The Alliance’s President & CEO Douglas L. Smith highlighted key industries that the alliance is focusing on. Priority sectors included offshore wind, advanced manufacturing, software and IT, food processing and technology, distribution and logistics, and shared services.

The latest initiative taking place at the Landing is the founding of Women of Offshore Wind (WOW). WOW is a collaborative organization of women who are part of the offshore wind industry in Virginia. The group will concentrate on networking and community service, with a focus on connecting and empowering women currently in, or interested in entering, the industry.

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has selected Norfolk, Virginia as the hub to support the safety needs of North America’s fast-emerging offshore wind sector. The leading safety solutions provider for the global maritime and offshore industries will coordinate delivery, service and lease agreements for sector-specific PPE and other gear from offices in Norfolk.

The US Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Maritime Administration (MARAD) has designated offshore wind vessels as Vessels of National Interest making them eligible for financial support through the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program. This designation will facilitate more offshore wind construction and will prioritize applications for such projects for review and funding through Title XI, DOT said.

About 15 years ago, University of Virginia engineering professor Eric Loth started thinking about how he could help with climate-related dilemmas, which led to his big idea about improving the design of wind turbines. What if a turbine’s blades could gracefully bend when subjected to high winds, morphing with the weather conditions like palm trees do during a hurricane?

The United States aspires to add nearly 30 gigawatts of offshore wind (OSW) generation capacity by 2030, enough electricity to power about 21 million homes. This ambition, if achieved, could aid the United States’ clean energy targets, create a new industry full of middle-class jobs, improve US and allied energy security, and enable green hydrogen. These ends, however, will not be reached with one singular action or initiative.

A trifecta of new federal policy moves on offshore wind emerged this week, with a White House announcement of plans to “advance a National Offshore Wind Supply Chain Roadmap and designating offshore wind vessels as Vessels of National Interest to facilitate more offshore wind construction.”