New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center   is overseeing the construction of the  New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal

Once complete, the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal will be the first facility in the nation designed to support the construction, assembly, and deployment of offshore wind projects. The first of its kind in North America, the terminal has been engineered to sustain mobile crane and storage loads that rival the highest capacity ports in the world.

 The terminal, which will be located inside New Bedford Harbor and protected by the hurricane barrier,  will be in close proximity to offshore wind planning areas along the East Coast that are being considered for development. The federal government is leading an offshore wind permitting and leasing process in nine states, including Massachusetts, along the Atlantic Coast. That process is expected to lead to the construction of multiple projects, many of which could make use of this first-in-the-nation facility.

 Offshore wind is the largest potential source of clean energy for Massachusetts, and its development can create a significant new industry here in the Commonwealth. The U.S. Department of Energy projects 43,000 clean energy jobs will be created in the offshore wind industry nationally by 2020. The Patrick-Murray Administration set the ambitious goal of reaching 2,000 megawatts of wind energy in Massachusetts by 2020. This goal is part of Governor Patrick’s nation-leading support for clean energy policies aimed at reducing reliance on foreign sources of energy, cutting energy costs and use, while cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions.