A discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing offshore wind energy.
A recording of the webinar is available below.
Relevant National Academies Resources:
About this Event
Offshore wind is one of the many sources of clean electricity being implemented as part of the push to decarbonize the grid. As states vet and approve projects, scientists, policymakers, and communities are working to better understand the potential economic and environmental impacts of offshore wind. Susan Phillips (WHYY) moderated a discussion between Josh Kohut (Rutgers University) and Tricia Jedele (TNC) that discussed the potential benefits and challenges presented by offshore wind, what the current economic and policy landscape for implementing the technology is, and considerations for future projects.
Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action is a monthly webinar series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that aims to convene high-level, cross-cutting, nonpartisan conversations about issues relevant to policy action on climate change.
Participant Bios
Susan Phillips is a founding member of the award-winning StateImpact Pennsylvania website and has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004, covering politics, immigration, and criminal justice. In 2013 she won the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her fracking coverage and the Associated Press Sandy Starobin Award for her investigative reports on the impact to rural drinking water related to gas drilling. She has received ten Edward R. Murrow awards and spent a year at MIT studying climate change as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow.
Josh Kohut is currently a professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and a member of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership at Rutgers University. Using networks of ocean observing technologies, his research and extension programs focus on the ocean processes that structure marine ecosystems. He is involved in many research programs that range in scope from storm intensity, offshore wind, and local water quality monitoring off the NJ coast; regional fisheries along the US east coast; and environmental studies of polar ecosystems in the coastal waters surrounding Antarctica.
Tricia Jedele, an attorney and environmental leader, is the Offshore Wind Policy Manager for the Nature Conservancy (TNC). In this role, Tricia coordinates and leads TNC's offshore wind energy efforts. Before TNC, Tricia served as the Chief of the Environment and Energy Unit of the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. From 2009 to 2016, Tricia served as Vice President and Rhode Island Director of the Conservation Law Foundation, where she worked closely with federal and state agencies in developing the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan, the first federally approved ocean plan for offshore wind in the United States. Tricia has also represented the commercial fishing community in negotiations related to compensatory mitigation for planned offshore wind projects off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the conversation are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
