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2018 Award Winners for Maryland’s Offshore Wind Business & Workforce Development Program Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jahmai Sharp-Moore | 443-694-3651

Baltimore, MD –Today the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced awards for both the 2018 Offshore Wind Business and the Offshore Wind Workforce Development grants. The aim of these grants is to prepare Maryland’s businesses and workforce to participate in the two offshore wind projects, recently approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC).

“Maryland will be home to the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in America,” said Mary Beth Tung, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration. “Maryland is the perfect location to serve as the supply chain hub for offshore wind industry and these grants will ensure we have the skilled workforce to take advantage of the new accompanying jobs.”

Offshore wind will bring new revenue streams and additional job and training opportunities to the state. Maryland is committed to lowering the cost of offshore wind by leveraging the state’s unique assets to establish a supply chain hub. Maryland is strategically located at the heart of the mid-Atlantic and the Port of Baltimore is one of America’s busiest international deep-water ports, now equipped with supersized Panamax cargo cranes and 50-foot-deep channels. This protected Port is serviced by railways, major highways, and international airports.

There are more than 1,300 businesses working in and around the Port, employing thousands of Marylanders, which present an opportunity to employ even more Marylanders and serve as a potential resource to support the offshore wind industry. In addition, Maryland is home to a number of companies in defense, robotics, and information technology industries, which regularly partner with Maryland’s academic centers of excellence to drive innovation and cost reductions in the offshore wind industry.

Offshore Wind Workforce Development Grant awardees include:

Offshore Wind Business Development Grant awardees include:

MEA created these programs with statutory authority provided by the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013. This statute created the Offshore Wind Business Development Fund where grant funding for these programs is sourced.

Maryland Energy Administration offers several additional grants to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and transportation, including for residents, businesses, nonprofits and government organizations. Visit www.energy.maryland.gov for more information and a full list of grants.

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Maryland Energy Administration
On behalf of Governor Hogan the mission of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) is to promote affordable, reliable and cleaner energy for the benefit of all Marylanders.  To achieve its mission, MEA advises the Governor and General Assembly on matters relating to energy policy.  MEA administers grant and loan programs to encourage clean energy technologies in all sectors of Maryland’s economy: Residential, Commercial, Agricultural, and Transportation. For more information about the Maryland Energy Administration, visit www.energy.maryland.gov and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.