Offshore wind market could take off

By Bruce Gruenewald

Director, Energy and Environmental Operations 

With the nation’s first offshore wind project approved after a contentious nine-year battle between government officials and a wealthy opposition group, investors and developers might gain some long-awaited opportunities along the coastline.

The controversial Cape Wind project in the waters of Nantucket Sound “will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic Coast,’’ Interior Secretary Salazar said at a Massachusetts State House press conference with Governor Deval Patrick at his side. According to the Boston Globe, Cape Wind will create 1,000 construction jobs and help the state in its goal to be a national clean energy leader.

The move paves the way for additional offshore wind projects to move forward. . In the end, regulators determined that the environmental, cultural, and aesthetic impacts of the project could be effectively mitigated, providing a much-needed victory for renewable energy and the offshore wind industry.

Unlike intermittent energy gleaned from solar panels or onshore wind farms, offshore wind offers a sustained energy supply that generally results in lower environmental and aesthetic impacts. Wind farm projects are proposed in numerous other states, several of which are being developed by one company in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

Offshore wind provides yet another example of a largely untapped renewable energy source for the nation’s energy portfolio. While no single renewable energy source will meet all of America’s future energy requirements, renewable sources of energy will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We need look further than the spill in the Gulf to be reminded of the environmental and human costs associated with our fossil fuel dependence. 

Bruce Gruenewald is the Director, Energy and Environmental Operations for NSI. He runs the day-to-day operations of the sector and works with the vice president to help clients develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions for state and local governments. Prior to joining NSI, Mr. Gruenewald served as a program manager on several US EPA contracts. He provided technical leadership for the contracts, supervised multi-disciplinary consulting staffs, and managed the business and contractual relationships with the government. He also positioned his employers for new business opportunities in federal, state, and local markets, evaluated potential teaming partners, and wrote proposals and developed pricing and cost strategies in response to RFPs. Prior to working in the federal contracting field, Mr. Gruenewald worked for the US EPA for 8 years, the last two as the Lead Economist on the Superfund reauthorization task force where he advised legislative negotiators and political appointees on the economic, budgetary, and programmatic impacts of various legislative proposals to reauthorize the Superfund program. Mr. Gruenewald graduated with honors from Saint Louis University with a BA in Economics. He also holds an MPA from George Washington University and is an associate member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources.