The Regional Plan Association (RPA), a non-profit civic organization, aims to improve the economic health, environmental resilience, and quality of life of the New York Metropolitan area. RPA recognizes the regional significance of the offshore wind (OSW) industry while acknowledging that many lay audiences remain unaware of the industry’s ongoing growth and the implications this growth has for ports’ stakeholders and adjacent communities. To continue to raise awareness and equip a wider audience with important information about broader industry impacts, RPA and Karp Strategies sought to build on the Making Offshore Wind Transmission Work for Communities (https://rpa.org/work/reports/offshore-wind-transmission) report developed in June 2023, with a new ports-focused report entitled, “Ports of Opportunity: Advancing Offshore Wind Ports in the Tri-state Region.” ( https://rpa.org/work/reports/ports-of-opportunity )

Karp Strategies leveraged the firm’s offshore wind expertise gained by working with key industry actors—developers, original equipment manufacturers, port operators, government agencies, economic development organizations, and impacted communities—to provide RPA with advisory support and conduct collaborative research and writing. The team delivered a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals and complexities of ports and supply chains across the OSW industry and recommendations for optimizing stakeholder engagement for renewable energy projects. Karp Strategies also facilitated introductions to leaders in the industry, enabling the RPA team to gain valuable insight into ports and supply chain considerations—from development to operations—in the regional OSW ecosystem.

The report, released on Monday, September 23, 2024, (1) explores the state of OSW port development in the tri-state region, (2) shares best practices for how developers, ports operators, communities, and other stakeholders can work together towards developing a regional port ecosystem and increasing workforce development within host communities, and (3) looks to the future to identify challenges and opportunities for offshore wind ports at the regional and national scales. In doing so, “Ports of Opportunity: Advancing Offshore Wind Ports in the Tri-state Region” successfully addresses the challenge of communicating complex and sometimes technical information to a broader audience so they may better understand the transformative potential of the OSW industry, address challenges, and be prepared to capitalize on upcoming opportunities.