New Bedford sees offshore wind industry as one that can contribute to its employment rate increase. Following the growth in number of proposals for wind farms off the New England coast, the officials plan to make the city a hub for assembling and transporting wind turbines.
New Bedford has been chosen in 2010 as a location where a facility for Cape Wind will be built. The state and federal funds worth USD 35 million would be invested in construction of the Marine Commerce Terminal.
However, the competition is great in port-based offshore wind support, which comes from Rhode Island, Delaware and New Jersey, the Boston Globe says.
New Bedford believes in its capability for being the number one offshore wind port, because it has assets which can easily be converted to support offshore wind industry.
By taking Germany as a role model, the city aspires to eventually shift from assembling business to the supply chain and other opportunities that the industry provides. All that can create thousands of jobs.
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, August 1, 2012; Image: Port of New Bedford