The Hampton Roads Alliance has partnered with Xodus Group and BW Research to conduct an offshore wind supply chain study for the Hampton Roads area in Virginia.
The project will be used to build out the US offshore wind industry in Hampton Roads and identify key opportunities for economic expansion. The partnership will deliver an in-depth offshore wind supply chain assessment and gap analysis for the Hampton Roads metropolitan area and wider Southern Virginia. The study will be based upon the requirements of both offshore wind developers and tier one suppliers as well as gauge the capabilities of local companies to become key suppliers to the industry.
This work will identify Hampton Road’s supply chain assets as well as uncover any gaps to help the Hampton Roads Alliance in its economic development efforts to support offshore wind.
The offshore wind supply chain assessment entails scoring the supply chain requirements, identifying and assessing key sectors, and analyzing the strengths and limitations of Hampton Roads. It will lead to a set of recommendations for a measurable, strategically focused offshore wind development plan based on available strengths and market forces, including roads for potential investment.
The project will be led from Boston, with input from its Scotland team. Xodus was recently appointed to undertake the role of ‘Offshore Wind Cluster Builder’ to develop and grow the Scottish offshore wind supply chain.
Virginia is home to the first offshore wind project ever in federal waters. When fully constructed in 2026, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project anchored in the Hampton Roads region will deliver up to 8.8 million megawatt hours per year of clean, renewable energy to the grid — powering up to 660,000 homes. This multi-billion-dollar investment in clean energy will create hundreds of new, well-paying jobs and position Virginia to host a supply chain that will serve the U.S. East Coast wind industry. Hampton Roads will also support development of Avangrid Renewables’ 2,500-megawatt Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project, which is estimated to generate over 800 jobs in the region and have a $2 billion impact on the economy of Virginia and North Carolina over the next decade.
