Overview

Louisiana Governor’s Office is hosting Louisiana Wind Week 2021 from June 21-25 through a series of online sessions that will look at how offshore wind energy could become a part of the state’s energy future.

Louisiana Wind Week 2021 will consist of a series of Zoom webinars to be held from 9 to 11 a.m. (CDT) each day from June 21-25. Each session will focus on a different topic critical to the development of offshore wind and include a mix of presentations, panel discussions, and Q&A with the public. Topics will include navigating the regulatory process, minimizing impacts to fish and wildlife, minimizing impacts to existing users in the Gulf of Mexico, connecting offshore wind to end users, and leveraging Louisiana’s existing offshore energy industry.

Louisiana Wind Week is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required for each online session, so click the link below for each session you wish to attend.

For info on the Climate Initiatives Task Force, click here. 

Schedule of Online Sessions

Monday, June 21: Offshore Wind Leasing and Administration Priorities

  • Watch the session here.
  • Participants include:
  • Gov. John Bel Edwards – Welcome
  • Harry Vorhoff, Deputy Director, Governor’s Office – Coastal Activities
  • Amanda Lefton, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
  • Michael Celata, Regional Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Gulf of Mexico Region
  • Thomas Harris, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
  • James Devitt, Deputy General Counsel, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
  • Greg Roberts, Petroleum Lands Director, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
  • Don Pierson, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Economic Development

Tuesday, June 22: Minimizing Potential Environmental Impacts

  • Watch the session here.
  • Participants include:
  • Erica Rule, Chief of Staff for Science Planning and Operations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Randy Wilson, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Rebecca Green, Senior Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Patrick Banks, Assistant Secretary for Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
  • Randy Myers, Assistant Secretary for Wildlife, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
  • Catherine Bowes, Program Director, National Wildlife Federation
  • Brent Newman, Deputy Director, Audubon Louisiana

Wednesday, June 23: Engaging Existing Users and Understanding Their Concerns

  • Watch the session here.
  • Participants include:
  • Daniel Ingold, Program Manager, Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Acy Cooper, President, Louisiana Shrimp Association
  • Shane Treadaway, Vice-President of Operations, West Bank LLC
  • Lori LeBlanc, Vice-President, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association
  • Greg Grandy, Deputy-Director, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
  • George Detweiler, Marine Transportation Specialist, U.S. Coast Guard

Thursday, June 24: Connecting Offshore Wind to Users

  • Watch the session here.
  • Participants include:
  • Joshua Gange, Renewable Energy Program Specialist, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
  • Paul Zimmering, Member, Stone Pigman
  • Jennifer Curran, Vice President, System Planning and Chief Compliance Officer, Midcontinent Independent System Operator
  • Andrew Tuozzolo, Office of New Orleans Councilmember-at-Large Helena Moreno
  • Brandon Frey, Executive Secretary, Louisiana Public Service Commission
  • Jonathan Bourg, Director of Resource Planning and Market Operations, Entergy Louisiana
  • Logan Atkinson-Burke, Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • James Cotter, General Manager Offshore Wind Americas, Shell

Friday, June 25: Existing and Future Supply Chain Capacity

  • Watch the session here.
  • Panel One participants include:
  • Joseph Orgeron, Louisiana State Representative District 54
  • James Martin, Director Blade Platform Deployment, LM Wind Power
  • Bill Blanchard, Senior Vice President Development, Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc.
  • Sara Ghazizadeh, Manager of Renewable Energies, Keystone Engineering, Inc.
  • Robert Clemons, Vice President, Edison Chouest Offshore
  • Benton LeBlanc, President, Okeanus Science & Technology, LLC
  • Panel Two participants include:
  • Brad Lambert, Deputy Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development
  • Michael Hecht, President and CEO, GNO, Inc.
  • Kristi Lumpkin, Economic Development Director, Lafourche Parish
  • Richert Self, Executive Director, Port of Lake Charles
  • Chett Chiasson, Executive Director, Port Fourchon
  • Clair Marceaux, Port Director at Cameron Port, Harbor & Terminal District
  • Terry Chambers, Director, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Center University of Louisiana at Lafayette 

BOEM’s Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force

Louisiana Wind Week follows the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) first Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting on June 15. At that meeting, which will be virtual, BOEM will explain the offshore wind development process for federal waters and solicit input from federal, state, local, and tribal elected officials and government representatives from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama as it identifies potential wind lease areas and engages potentially impacted parties. More information on the June 15 BOEM Task Force meeting is available here.