Fara Courtney has been working in support of the offshore wind industry in the US for over 15 years, focusing on policy innovation, market development and strategic partnerships. She is Principal of Outer Harbor Consulting with clients in the public sector, industry and academia. Fara recently worked with Mayflower Wind LLC on their winning bid to secure the power purchase contract for an 800 MW windfarm off Massachusetts; she convened a national Grid and Transmission Working group for the Business Network for Offshore Wind, which led to the publication of a major white paper in 2020 advocating systems-level planning for offshore wind grid integration.
As principal Strategic Advisor to the Partnership for Offshore Wind Energy Research in the United States (POWER-US), Fara was a leader in convening a network of Universities, National Laboratories and ocean research institutions to develop a multi-disciplinary research framework to drive innovation to advance offshore wind deployment. Previously, Fara served as a regional manager for the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program, where she focused on regulatory analysis, waterfront and environmental planning, convening and innovation at the intersection of environmental and economic opportunity. She holds an MS in Science Communications from Boston University and a BA from Cornell University.
The seminar will discuss the long-anticipated development of commercial scale offshore wind power is finally coming to the United States. The slow and rocky emergence of this new American energy industry over the past 20 years offers a case-example of what we need to do better to achieve our nation’s climate goals and the opportunity ahead to make the energy transition a force for social justice.