American Energy, American Jobs

About the Author: Amanda Lefton is the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM is the federal agency within the Department of the Interior responsible for managing energy and mineral resource development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, including offshore wind.

This year, the nation will celebrate Labor Day on September 5 – exactly 140 years after the first commemoration in New York City in 1882. The holiday honors the achievements and contributions of the American workers who have helped build our country’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. At the Department of the Interior, we are excited to usher in a new era of strength and prosperity by helping create American jobs through responsible American offshore clean energy development.

From the start, the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Deb Haaland have made it clear that fighting climate change and supporting American workers are essential priorities for implementing its clean energy goals.?The nation is primed for a transition to clean energy future – one that will combat climate change, create good-paying union jobs, and?ensure economic opportunities are accessible to all communities. A thriving U.S. offshore industry is a key component to this vision. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is driving progress to meet this moment and help make this vision reality.

Over the past year, the Department has moved forward at the pace and scale required to help achieve the Administration’s ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. We have approved the nation’s first two major offshore wind projects and initiated the review of 10 additional projects, with more coming this year.?We announced a new offshore wind leasing strategy to provide clear direction on our path, which includes seven lease sales by 2025 in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico. We held two of these historic lease sales this year.

As we continue to drive momentum for offshore wind energy development, BOEM is laser-focused on helping create thousands of good-paying, union jobs for American families. We are finding opportunities – particularly through ?lease agreements – to incentivize the domestic sourcing of major components (e.g., blades, turbines, and foundations), to develop a highly-skilled and well-trained domestic workforce, and to advance a new leasing process to drive investments in a domestic supply chain. This includes developing innovative lease stipulations that require lessees to take every reasonable effort to enter project labor agreements (PLAs) for project construction to ensure workers benefit from the protections and good pay that unions provide. We have already seen the offshore wind industry take steps to prioritize PLAs and support workforce expansion by developing well-trained personnel who are ready to start building offshore wind projects. We only expect these efforts to grow.

While we are incredibly proud of our progress, we know we need a robust and resilient domestic supply chain to fully realize all the benefits offshore wind can provide. Developing this supply chain requires collaboration between federal agencies, states and Tribes, unions, and industry representatives to enhance U.S. manufacturing, logistics, and workforce development. President Biden exemplified this approach earlier this summer when he launched a first-of-its-kind federal-state partnership to accelerate progress on offshore wind. The partnership will support efforts to provide Americans with cleaner and cheaper energy, create good-paying jobs, and make historic investments in new American energy supply chains, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and servicing.

BOEM appreciates the collaborative relationships we’ve developed with our partners. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and commitment of these important groups, and we look forward to continuing these relationships as we move forward.

I believe that American labor is one of the strongest economic forces in the world. Throughout our nation’s history, American workers have been the engine powering the country and contributing to its strength and stability. I’m honored that the Department and BOEM can play a role in continuing American labor’s long and storied legacy. That’s why we will continue to expeditiously advance our transition to a clean energy economy in a way that helps families put food on the table, that boosts local economies, and that lays the foundation for workforce diversity, training, and development. We will commit to lifting up underserved communities that have historically been left behind. And we will ensure that all Americans can enjoy the benefits of clean energy and job creation.