October 24, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal (MCT), one of the world’s most perfectly tailored offshore wind hubs, is still waiting for its first big break in the sector.
But with developers now preparing to file bids in December for Massachusetts’ first offshore wind tender, worth up to 800MW, the MCT finally looks set to pay off as the race for offshore wind jobs heats up in the US.
As Massachusetts has long known, and other states are quickly realizing, it’s a race in which an early lead could solidify into decades-long benefits.
“New Bedford is very explicit in its goal of becoming the epicentre of the North American offshore wind industry,” says Stephen Pike, chief executive of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), the state-funded agency which built the MCT — with $113m of public funds — and operates it.