IPF 2025: My Top 5 Insights

The Groundwire Group turned out in force at last week's Oceantic Network International Partnering Forum 2025, and we came away feeling more energized than ever. Between repping hard at multiple panels, catching up with colleagues, and making new friends, it's impossible to list all the highlights. Dolphins at sunrise during beach yoga were definitely high on the list. What struck me most was that the vibe was far from somber. Despair? We don't know her.

Here are the five key insights I took away from this year's conference:

1) This industry won't go quietly into the night

Kicking off with Liz Burdock 's fierce queen energy, the overall attitude was one of defiance. We've come too far, and there's too much at stake to give up now. Saying the words "orchestrated political attack" in this environment might feel like a big risk, but it's the truth, and the moment we stop speaking the truth and saying it loudly, we're lost. Yesterday's breaking news that 18 states are suing the Trump Administration over its wind energy Executive Orders is further evidence that we have a lot of fight left in us. Our allies are rallying on both sides of the aisle to deliver the critical energy and economic opportunities offshore wind brings to the table - just ask Catherine Belmán Goggins , with whom I shared a panel on the Inflation Reduction Act.

The facts are on our side, but that only matters if we can tell the right story in the right places. If you spoke with anyone from our team at the conference, you probably heard about some of our big ideas for how we can take our fight to the battlegrounds of public opinion. The field of engagement is social media, where we must call out lies and misinformation and mobilize our stakeholders to share their personal stories and perspectives. Humanizing and normalizing this industry, weaving it into the fabric of American society and values, is the recipe for success. Why social media? If you caught my colleague Raquel's panel on how offshore wind can save the whales, you learned about pink slime media - partisan propaganda posing as local news outlets, rushing in to fill the void left by a collapse in the traditional media environment. Rowan University has a fantastic event coming up on May 21 to dive into the antidote for these astroturfing local media tactics. You won't want to miss it: The Future of Journalism: New Models, Digital Transformation and the Public Interest.

2) The U.S. and Canadian offshore wind markets are poised to converge off Nova Scotia's shores

With a national election unfolding during pre-conference workshops (excellent deep dive on results here), Canada took center stage both literally and metaphorically. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, always a dynamic and energizing speaker, joined the opening plenary with a rousing pitch for the U.S. offshore wind industry to turn their gaze northward. With a 2.5 GW seabed auction planned for the end of 2025, another 2.5 GW to follow, and more expected to come, Nova Scotia is the next big thing in North America. The province's maritime assets are already supporting the U.S. industry alongside Newfoundland and Labrador's equally-capable port facilities. To learn more about all things offshore wind in Nova Scotia, check out their official website here.

As the founder of the Coalition for a New England - Maritimes Offshore Energy Corridor , you know I was thrilled to hear the Premier call out the need for transmission to deliver their energy to consumers in Massachusetts and beyond. What's that phrase? There's no transition without transmission. This message came through loud and clear in the panel I joined to unpack the strategic nexus between the Gulf of Maine and Canadian market opportunities.

3) The friendships we build with colleagues can sustain us through adversity

I knew instinctively that the most important part of attending IPF this year would be the psychological benefit of solidarity with our community, and I wasn't wrong. It was such a joy to spend time with old friends who might move around, but rarely stray far from the action in offshore wind. There's something about this industry that really gets its hooks into you.

I'm not sure what it says that the sole podcast I can bring you this week is called Prepping for Doomsday, but it delivered an unexpected nugget of insight that relates to this point: "What can we confront alone and what can we confront together? If we limit ourselves to confronting things alone, I think the threshold is pretty low." While the context may have been the varying degrees of disaster and our willingness to survive, the message resonates. We are capable of so much more when we confront adversity together.

4) Seeing is believing

A few members of the Groundwire team were honored to join a stakeholder dialogue during the conference, where they heard a surprising message. After visiting the turbines installed at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Windfarm, one community organizer noted that anyone who sees these things up close will immediately come to love offshore wind. Their impressive immensity and improbability inspires a sense of awe, that feeling of wonder when we behold something spectacular that human hands have created. It was reassuring to hear that message from someone who isn't as deeply invested in the industry as ourselves and our colleagues.

Strong visuals are essential to telling our story, and I saw some great examples while wandering the exhibit hall floor. Project models that capture the reality of installed projects in realistic miniature bring the delight of a well-executed diorama or whimsical dollhouse to the serious business of generating clean energy. Rope technicians climbing scaffolding caught the eye from every vantage point, and cutting-edge autonomous technology reminded us that we're living in the future. The value of this type of visual storytelling cannot be understated and we need to find more ways to bring it to the masses.

5) Collaboration is king

The offshore wind industry has always grappled with the line between competition and collaboration. Our present circumstances demonstrate that the complexity and scale of this effort require more of the latter, and it doesn't mean we must sacrifice the former. On the first full day of the conference, the Northeast States' Collaborative on Interregional Transmission released a strategic action plan, outlining actions they will pursue to advance the transmission infrastructure we need to deliver offshore wind more responsibly and cost-effectively. This bipartisan group of governors is united in tackling the hard problems - that's a really big deal. The states have broad authority to pursue these solutions, and the only thing holding them back is the difficulty of going it alone. You can find their plan and a webinar recording here.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon this gem from my friend and colleague Kent Herzog . You won't find a more clear, concise, and actionable proposal for uniting states to deliver offshore wind in a more resilient and affordable way than this blog post. Kudos, Kent! Some of these lessons are taken straight out of the European playbook, which attendees heard all about during the panel I joined, unpacking 30 years of experience from the German offshore wind industry.

I'm so appreciative to the Network for giving us the opportunity to take part in this year's conference, and for continuing to fight the good fight on behalf of the millions of people who will benefit from building out a robust offshore wind industry in the U.S. Can't wait to see everyone again next year in NYC - based on what I saw last week, I have a feeling we're going to have plenty of wins to celebrate.