Connecticut Wind Collaborative Executive Director Kristin Urbach was among the featured speakers during a tour in May of the nation’s first completed, utility-scale offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind.

Nearly 200 stakeholders, from environmental organizations and industry representatives to state and local leaders, attended along with media outlets.

Kristin described the mission of the Collaborative as it relates to economic development and workforce expansion opportunities for Connecticut and its neighboring states.

The tour of the 12-turbine wind farm 35 miles east of Montauk Point, Long Island, was hosted by the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region, which helped launch the Collaborative, on behalf of the Ørsted and Eversource joint venture that developed South Fork Wind.

Guests got a clear picture of Connecticut’s outsized role in the offshore wind industry as they left from the Port of New London aboard Cross Sound Ferry’s high-speed Cecelia Ann. The ferry terminal is adjacent to State Pier, where components for the joint venture’s wind farms are assembled and shipped.

In addition to giving attendees a chance to take photos and video of the massive, spinning wind turbines and the first marine substation in the nation, the tour resulted in positive stories published by statewide media. Additionally, blogs were posted by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, national Sierra Club, and Oceantic Network, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to growing the U.S. offshore wind industry and its supply chain.

All in all, it was a very good day for offshore wind in Connecticut and the Connecticut Wind Collaborative!