Oceantic Network’s International Partnering Forum (IPF) concluded Thursday after four days packed with new announcements and insights from offshore wind industry leaders and government officials. The largest offshore wind conference in the Americas, 2024 IPF gathered 3,400 attendees from 32 countries, who met with 400 exhibitors and heard from over 350 speakers. From a new 5-year leasing schedule to key supply chain growth announcements, IPF Week showcased the enthusiasm of the industry to share knowledge and collaborate in order to build the industry along U.S. coastlines.  

This year’s IPF hosted the first ever FloatON Summit, a two-day series of talks and panels dedicated to floating offshore wind. Speakers at FloatON included Maine Governor Janet Mills, RCAM Technologies Founder & CEO Jason Cotrell, Venterra Group CEO Philippe Kavafyan, and others. In her keynote address, Mills announced that Maine had begun the process to secure up to 3,000 MW of offshore wind power generation by 2040. The Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) simultaneously released a Request for Information seeking public input on the state’s first commercial offshore wind solicitation. 

“The Oceantic Network’s annual IPF continues to be the place where the industry gathers to forge the connections needed to bolster an expanding industry and together discuss the challenges and opportunities we must face head on in the months and years ahead,” said Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock. “The industry’s success continues to be driven by steadfast effort from stakeholders; policymakers, regulators, investors, companies, and the American public continue to voice their confidence in offshore wind and move the industry forward. As our industry has moved from planning to execution, IPF allowed these stakeholders to come together and envision a future powered by offshore wind.” 

This year’s plenary session was filled with energy and served as a platform for several key announcements that will positively shape the industry. New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Doreen Harris took the stage to address the state’s path forward following last week’s announcement. Harris laid out details of New York’s fifth offshore wind solicitation round and expressed the state’s intent to request another lease sale by BOEM in the New York Bight. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk discussed $200+ million in 48C tax credits for offshore wind supply chain manufacturing and announced $48 million in funding for new research & development on offshore wind in the Great Lakes. To close out the Plenary Session, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s intention to conduct a dozen new offshore wind lease sales over the next five years on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, as well as Hawaii.  

In addition to the Plenary Session and FloatON Summit, 2024 IPF featured 100+ sessions, including 65+ workshops across 13 tracks and a variety of Networking opportunities. The conference also featured What’s New & Spinning,allowing attendees to hear directly from top developers including Ørsted, Dominion Energy, RWE, and others about their current progress and upcoming opportunities across the supply chain. Startup Alley, presented in partnership with SeaAhead, allowed innovative startups to present their new technologies to attendees. And also in the Exhibit Hall, the Global Insights Stage hosted offshore wind leaders from around the world as they delivered international market updates and spoke on opportunities for collaborative growth. 

Oceantic Network announced that 2025 IPF will take place in Virginia Beach April 29 – May 1.  

Oceantic Network | https://oceantic.org/