State Partnership to Pursue Offshore Wind in Salem

Dear Councillors,

As you may know, as part of the municipal harbor planning process, the City has been actively engaged for a while now with state leadership, port operations professionals, wind industry members, and neighbors to better understand the role of Salem in the development of offshore wind. Today I am excited to share with you that the City and the Commonwealth are entering into a partnership to explore the development of offshore wind (OSW) port facilities on the 42-acre Footprint property in the Port of Salem.

The specific details of this partnership are part of an active discussion between the City, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED), and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC), however it is expected to include a joint working group to identify and advance steps to facilitate OSW development at this site. This partnership represents an important next step in the revitalization of our historic port, one that will activate and reuse this important property, grow our commercial/industrial tax base, create new jobs, and help us address climate change in an even more pro-active manner. We are committed to continuing to work diligently to position Salem for success.

We will continue to work at the local level with Councillor McCarthy, the Salem Harbor Port Authority and through the municipal harbor planning process which includes a range of stakeholders to share information, as we identify and navigate challenges and opportunities during this process. We are currently preparing a federal port grant application, due in July, to help facilitate this important work.

Our community is enthusiastic about pursuing offshore wind utilization at this site. We also recognize that this is a new industry that requires significant state and federal permitting, as well as the substantial private-sector investment to ready the site for more active port usage.

I hope to have more information to share in the weeks ahead, but overall, I am optimistic that working together we can revive this historic port for the greater good of our community.

Best,
Kim

Mayor Kimberley
DriscollShe/Her/Hers
City of Salem
93 Washington Street
Salem, Massachusetts 01970
978-619-5600