Governor Healey Invests $4.2 Million to Grow Offshore Wind Workforce and Research

Governor Healey Invests $4.2 Million to Grow Offshore Wind Workforce and Research 

 

Workers will gain the skills needed for careers in offshore wind construction and operations, while advancing research to guide the industry's responsible growth

BOSTON – Governor Healey and the Mass Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced $4.2 million in funding to 20 projects that will prepare workers for offshore wind and maritime careers, and support research on fisheries, wildlife, and the marine environment. The funding is awarded through two MassCEC programs: $1.7 million through the Offshore Wind Works program and $2.4 million through the Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis program. These awards are part of Massachusetts’ continued investment in the people, infrastructure, and science needed to support the state’s offshore wind industry.

“Offshore wind means good jobs, more clean energy and real economic opportunity for Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We’re investing in the workers who will build this industry and the research needed to develop it responsibly and protect our fisheries, wildlife and marine environment.”

“Massachusetts has everything it takes to lead in offshore wind: world-class ports, skilled workers and coastal communities with deep maritime experience,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These grants will help more residents prepare for good-paying careers and make sure we’re ready for the next generation of projects.”

“The clean energy transition doesn’t happen without the people doing the work,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We need skilled workers to build offshore wind and researchers who can help us better understand our ocean, fisheries, and wildlife. Investing in both is how we grow clean energy responsibly and make sure Massachusetts continues to lead.”

“These two efforts work in tandem: one grows the talent pipeline for offshore wind projects, the other expands the knowledge base the industry needs for the long haul,” said Ben Downing, Mass Clean Energy Center CEO. “Investing in both is how Massachusetts prepares the way for future accelerated offshore wind deployment.”

Through Offshore Wind Works, $1.7 million will support eight projects in building a Massachusetts workforce that is capable of planning, deploying, operating, maintaining, and manufacturing components for offshore wind projects. Many of the skills and credentials developed through these projects are transferable across clean energy, maritime, construction, and other port-based industries—strengthening workforce resilience beyond offshore wind alone. Since launching in 2018, Offshore Wind Works has awarded $22 million to 35 grantees, leveraging more than $11 million in additional cost-sharing.

“Massachusetts' clean energy future depends on having a skilled workforce ready to build it,” said State Senator Jake Oliveira, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development (D-Ludlow). “These investments will create pathways into good-paying careers, strengthen partnerships with organized labor, higher education, and workforce training programs, and give workers skills that can serve them across industries. By investing in our workforce alongside research and responsible development, we are positioning Massachusetts workers to benefit from the economic opportunities created by the clean energy transition.”

“The clean energy transition is also a workforce opportunity, and the Commonwealth must make sure our workers are positioned to lead it,” said State Representative Paul McMurtry, House Chair of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee (D-Dedham). “From union trades and maritime workers to students and people exploring new careers, these investments are creating pathways into skilled jobs while building a workforce that can grow with the industry. That means more opportunity for Massachusetts workers and a stronger, more resilient economy for the future.”

This year’s awards will fund projects across three focus areas: Workforce Training & Upskilling; Training Equipment & Infrastructure; and Career Exploration & Education. The projects are expected to leverage an estimated $892,241 in additional cost-sharing and in-kind contributions from grantees and their partners.

The 2026 Offshore Wind Works awardees are:

• Massachusetts Maritime Academy: $260,000 for Workforce Training & Upskilling
• Funding will be used to establish the equipment, certifications, and instructional capacity needed to deliver Helicopter Underwater Escape Training.
• Partners: RelyOn USA

• TITAN Structural Group LLC: $500,000 for Workforce Training & Upskilling and Training Equipment & Infrastructure
• Funding will be used to equip trades workers with offshore wind safety and technical certifications.
• Partners: Ironworkers; IBEW; IUPAT union affiliates

• UMass Dartmouth: $250,000 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to add 30 paid internship opportunities to the offshore wind internship program.

• UMass Boston: $249,243 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to develop and deliver ten learning modules covering offshore wind topics ranging from engineering and aquaculture to ports and supporting infrastructure.
• Partners: Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW)

• STEAM the Streets: $209,330 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to launch a statewide campaign to increase public understanding of offshore wind and clean energy careers. 
• Partners: Environmental League of Massachusetts; Boston Public Schools; New Bedford Public Schools; MassHire South Shore; MassHire Greater New Bedford

• UMass Amherst: $141,427 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to expand the Career Access Scholarship Program, enhance workforce training with a focus on transferable skills, and foster new partnerships between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia.
• Partners: MANSA Consulting; Salem Alliance for the Environment; Spirit Advisory

• MANSA Consulting, Inc: $100,000 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to expand the WindWorks campaign to increase awareness of offshore wind career opportunities and connect participants to introductory offshore wind training.
• Partners: Bristol Community College; IWNL Energy

• Trustees of Tufts University: $40,000 for Career Exploration & Education
• Funding will be used to publish findings on offshore wind workers' experiences, safety culture, and working conditions, while highlighting industry best practices through a case study.

Through the Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis program, $2.5 million will support 12 projects in advancing research that informs the responsible development and operation of offshore wind in Southern New England and the Gulf of Maine. Each project has a direct connection to a Massachusetts-based business or research institution, a Massachusetts-based intern, or both. Collectively, these awards will create at least seven paid internships for students attending Massachusetts universities, giving early-career researchers hands-on experience in offshore wind science.

This year’s awards will address five topic areas: Fisheries; Habitat & Wildlife; Regional Transmission Planning; Regional Monitoring; and Science Communication.

The 2026 Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis awardees are:

• New England Aquarium: $246,075 for Fisheries research
• Funding will be used to research how offshore wind development is affecting recreational and for-hire fishing activity in Southern New England.
• Partners: Pelagic Strategies

• UMass Dartmouth
• $280,501 for Fisheries and Habitat research
• Funding will be used to continue a study focused on understanding offshore wind impacts on cod spawning grounds in Southern New England.
• $199,589 for Regional Monitoring
• Funding will be used to create a regional data-collection strategy to guide future monitoring and inform responsible offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine.
• Partners: Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative & Northeast Regional Ocean Council (separate $30,000 award to support this project)

• Center for Coastal Studies: $284,642 for Habitat & Wildlife research 
• Funding will be used to evaluate the ability of ocean circulation models to predict zooplankton aggregations to inform methods for understanding potential offshore wind effects on North Atlantic right whale prey. 
• Partners: Integral Consulting

• atdepth MRV Inc.: $252,000 for Habitat & Wildlife research
• Funding will be used to create a digital twin model of the Gulf of Maine to study potential effects of floating offshore wind turbines on ocean processes and North Atlantic right whale prey.

• Tufts University: $269,910 for Habitat & Wildlife research
• Funding will be used to develop an implementation framework for incorporating nature-inclusive design into offshore wind projects.
• Partners: Outer Harbor Consulting; Responsible Offshore Science Alliance; Nomadic Foundry

• JASCO: $246,746 for Habitat & Wildlife research
• Funding will be used to examine existing offshore wind wildlife protection measures using quantitative modeling to assess risk reduction and implementation costs.

• Ocean Tech Services, LLC: $77,414 for Habitat & Wildlife research
• Funding will be used to install a Motus radio telemetry receiving station at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Air-Sea Interaction Tower, re-establishing important offshore detection capability for migratory birds and bats.

• Power Advisory LLC: $186,995 for Regional Transmission
• Funding will be used to build on existing offshore wind energy transmission studies to investigate interregional transmission scenarios for New England, New York, and Atlantic Canada.
• Partners: Johns Hopkins University; UMass Amherst

• Responsible Offshore Science Alliance: $149,997 for Science Communication
• Funding will be used to communicate results of existing offshore wind fisheries research to Massachusetts fishing communities and the general public.
• Partners: Fat Moon Creative

• Biodiversity Research Institute: $149,206 for Science Communication
• Funding will be used to translate and communicate offshore wind science and research into accessible, stakeholder-informed materials for Massachusetts and beyond.
• Partners: Consensus Building Institute

• CBN Media, LLC: $125,000 for Science Communication
• Funding will be used to increase public understanding of marine life interactions with offshore wind infrastructure in Southern New England.

For more information on Offshore Wind Works and Offshore Wind Science, Research and Analysis, visit masscec.com/our-focus/offshore-wind.