In my experience, it’s always good to bring a little levity to the workplace. We’ll share funny stories, play the occasional practical joke, and offer thorough critiques of each other’s wardrobes. As one colleague likes to say: “No one is immune!” All in all, it’s just good-natured ribbing… until someone takes it just a little too far, crossing the border that separates playful teasing from demoralizing insults. Considering the industry we serve, our conversations, stories, and joking will naturally migrate toward wind energy. One of our longstanding targets has been U.S. offshore wind has been the butt of more than its share of jokes and ribbing at the hands of Wind Systems’ panel of comic geniuses. Among our targets, none have been the butt of as many cracks, knocks, and one-liners as the U.S. offshore wind segment. Like members of a middle school “cool kid” clique, who go out of their way to humiliate and terrorize a mousy, spectacle-clad young girl, we would pounce on any opportunity to entertain ourselves at offshore’s expense. But the in-crowd’s jokes weren’t funny back then — at least not in the opinion of the object of their torment. She couldn’t understand what reason they had for being so cruel. Chances were, the bullies didn’t know either. We didn’t. Our jabs were eerily similar to the clique’s — based on ignorance and our own perceptions. U.S. offshore wind? Soooo weird! Offshore will never amount to anything. Just… look… Ugh! (In our defense, the only model we had for comparison was European Offshore Wind, who was in her early twenties and much more… ahem… developed.) Our minds were made up. But we forgot to consider the plot-twist from our classic Hollywood storyline: The weird girl grows up. Fast-forward to now, and U.S. offshore wind is breaking through her awkward phase and starting to mature. Currently — as you’ll read in this issue of Wind Systems — more than a dozen U.S. offshore wind projects — representing almost 5 GW of planned capacity — are steadily moving through the development process. Before we know it, offshore will be turning heads left and right, drawing the attention and affection of countless suitors. When that time comes, I have no doubt my colleagues and I will turn to each other with awestruck faces, realizing we made the same mistake as the cool kids: We refused to dig deeper and recognize the hidden potential. But I don’t think the industry will hold it against us. Thanks for reading,
