The New Bedford Marine Trade Terminal is a huge expanse of open concrete jutting out into the harbor. Recently, a few refrigerated trucks were unloading seafood at a nearby processing plant, but the terminal itself looked like a huge empty parking lot. As the wind swept across the vast space, the biggest action was the crowd of crouching seagulls, screaming at each other.

This is where Bruce Carlisle wants you to use your imagination.

“In my mind, I see the sections of the tower stacked and lined up. I see the blades all ready for use. I see forklifts and cranes and tracks and all kinds of things, â€says Carlisle, general manager of offshore wind at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center or MassCEC.

MassCEC is a quasi-governmental economic development agency, whose mission is to stimulate the growth of jobs and clean energy infrastructure in the state. A little over ten years ago, MassCEC put a big bet on offshore wind and built the Marine Commerce Terminal. The terminal is approximately the size of 22 football fields and has been designed to support the weight required to partially assemble offshore wind turbines. To this day, it remains the only such assembly area in the country.

“We have known for some time that offshore wind is an important renewable energy resource,†says Carlisle. “It was really only a matter of time.”

This week, MassCEC’s bet could finally start to bear fruit. The federal government is set to make a major decision regarding Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale wind farm in the United States, to be built off Martha’s Vineyard. The decision represents the last big hurdle the project must overcome before construction can begin.

“When Vineyard Wind gets here, we’re going to do the work, the investments, and the groundwork that we’ve laid.”

Bruce Carlisle, Managing Director, Offshore Wind, MassCEC

The move could pave the way for a huge offshore wind industry along the Atlantic coast, but it comes after years of uncertainty.

Offshore wind has never been a sure thing in the United States In the early 2000s, a company called Cape Wind proposed to build a wind farm off Cape Cod. MassCEC expected Cape Wind to be the first company to lease the New Bedford terminal, but after years of public opposition over how the turbines would affect the ocean view, this project fell through, and therefore spoke of a large offshore wind industry on the east coast.

The New Bedford terminal stayed afloat by leasing the port area to other ocean freight operations, and it served as a starting point for onshore wind and solar projects.

“It was enough to get us moving,†says Carlisle. “When Vineyard Wind gets here, we’re going to do the work, the investments, and the groundwork that we’ve laid.”

In 2016, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a law stating that state utilities must begin purchasing offshore wind power within a decade. Vineyard Wind won the first round of tenders and is now expected to become the country’s first large offshore wind farm. Its 62 turbines will remain in the water about 12 miles off Martha’s Vineyard and produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes each year.

If the federal government gives the company a favorable decision this week, Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen has said it could start bringing large cranes, turbine blades and electrical components to Marine Commerce Terminal l ‘next year.

“I would call this a unique opportunity to build a new industry, to create manufacturing and construction sites, and also to provide clean, affordable energy,†says Pedersen.

Getting here has been a roller coaster ride. Vineyard Wind submitted its plans to the federal government for approval in 2017. The review process was supposed to take two years, and in the meantime, several other east coast states have opened tenders for large wind projects in the United States. off their coasts. It seemed like the long-awaited offshore wind revolution was finally starting.

But just before the release of Vineyard Wind’s final environmental review, the Trump administration announced it was putting the project on hold.

“We received a call from the Home Secretary’s office telling us that there had been a change and that there were new concerns about the project,†recalls Kathleen Theoharides, Secretary of State for Home Affairs. ‘Energy and Environmental Affairs. She says federal officials told her with so many wind projects underway, they wanted to step back and look at the cumulative impacts of the industry.

“It kind of turned into this long summer where we went back and forth to DC, trying to save the project,†she says.

Despite Theoharides’ efforts, the project remained in limbo, even as the Trump administration removed similar hurdles for the fossil fuel industries.

“It was like they were picking an industry to really focus on with careful consideration of environmental impacts as the oil and gas industry got a free pass,†says Theoharides.

The delay was not only inconvenient for Vineyard Wind. He threatened to disrupt the supply chain and construction plans for the project. And with the failure of the Cape Wind project still on the minds of many, the Trump administration’s decision has once again raised questions about the future of the industry.

The election of Joe Biden changed that.

A few weeks ago, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced that the Biden administration was doing all it could on offshore wind. They got Vineyard Wind back on track and promised to revive the industry by speeding up the review process, opening new rental areas and helping to create tens of thousands of union jobs.

The goals are ambitious. But not everyone is happy.

“They can minimize it as if there was no effect on the ecosystem. I don’t see how that can’t, when you start putting hundreds and hundreds of these poles in the water, â€says Peter Anthony, who has worked in the New Bedford fishing industry for 40 years. and now serves as treasurer for the seafood supply company Eastern Fisheries. “We’ve been here forever. Fishing communities fish in these areas because they are fertile fishing grounds.”

Anthony says many fishermen have felt blinded by the federal government’s support for offshore wind. And although companies like Vineyard Wind have made a few adaptations to the fishing industry – like increasing the space between turbines in the water – it still feels like it’s all going too fast.

At any time, the Department of the Interior will approve, deny or suggest changes to the Vineyard Wind construction plan. The company will need a few small permits and federal approvals down the road, but this represents the last big hurdle for the project. If the decision is favorable, which seems likely, Vineyard Wind could start construction offshore next year and provide electricity by the end of 2023.

“I’m sure they’re going to drink champagne and pump their fists and they’ll all be happy about it, but I think in the fishing community they’re going to see it as a loss,” says Anthony.

Anthony says fishermen feel the country has decided to swap one renewable resource – seafood – for another: wind power. And he thinks it’s a shame.

Lars Pedersen of Vineyard Wind says he knows some fishermen are not happy, but he believes the two industries can coexist. And he says the project his team proposed – and which the government seems likely to approve – is one example.

“When you just look at the fundamentals of this industry: the strong winds, the shallow waters, the number of people living along the coastline, the ambitions of states to move towards a net zero goal, there is no way. that you don’t have offshore wind as part of that equation, â€says Pedersen.

States and the Biden administration are actually relying on offshore wind to help mitigate climate change. And if their plans are fully realized, the entire East Coast energy system could be radically transformed.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration of more than 400 news organizations committed to better covering the climate crisis. This year’s theme is “living the climate crisisâ€.