Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 27, 2024 13 Contact Guirlene Morales: guirlene@hncc.org, 860-541-2208 x2213 Habitat's A Brush With Kindness program assists homeowners with external and internal repairs. Helping the Elderly, Disabled and Veterans Now Accepting Applications! Know someone in need? WWW.HFHNCC.ORG Its programs are state and federally funded. SeCTer also has produced a video, available on its website (www.secter. org), to highlight the various indus- tries and companies in the region, and created a map pinpointing the state's real estate assets for the offshore wind industry. Yet, Joe Violette, business reten- tion and expansion specialist for seCTer, says the state could do more. He notes that the approved bill to create an economic devel- opment plan for the Mystic area "is largely concerned with transportation and getting people in and out of the area, because in the summer months this place is very busy" due to its many tourist attractions. While tourism is "serious economic development," seCTer is seeking a discussion on the impact of the broader blue economy. "What we're talking about is way more broad in terms of statewide implications across any town that has coastline or access to coastline, via the Connecticut River or the Thames River," he said. "What opportunities can the state provide through recruitment of busi- nesses or potential expansion oppor- tunities by loosening of requirements or tax credit opportunities or work- force-related opportunities?" Violette asked. "That's why we had the idea to propose a study by DECD of commu- nities within proximity of the state's coastline and waterways, to help grow these businesses, or help prop up the next ThayerMahan or other businesses that the average person may not know of, but have a huge impact and are doing great things." If you didn't get the ThayerMahan reference, it sort of proves his point. The Groton-based developer of autonomous maritime surveillance technology is hardly a household name. But the 165-employee company has been thriving, having recently secured $20 million in funding from private investors, while its annual revenues approach $100 million. ThayerMahan's technology includes two autonomous maritime sensing systems, called Outpost and SeaWatch, that have both military and commercial uses in detecting in detail what is below the ocean's surface. 'More than just offshore wind' Brown, seCTer's director of economic development strategy, says the upgraded State Pier is an example of what can be accom- plished when the state works with blue economy industries. The pier "can support more weight than any terminal on the East Coast," Brown said. "This is the most advanced marine terminal probably in the country just because it's so new." The state also organized the Groton-based Connecticut Wind Collaborative, a nonprofit designed to work collaboratively across state agencies and state lines to advance the regional supply chain and the workforce needed to meet the growing demand for wind energy. In April, the collaborative hired its first executive director and tripled its board of directors to 15 members. Among those added to the board was Paul Whitescarver, a retired Navy captain and former commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton who now serves as seCTer's executive director. Whitescaver said other states have taken notice of Connecticut's collab- orative efforts with Rhode Island and Massachusetts on offshore wind. However, as impressed as Brown is by the state's offshore wind efforts, he adds a note of caution. "It's more than just offshore wind," he said of the blue economy. "Offshore wind is just part of it. It's just that our activity around offshore wind has led us to the point in real- izing that, as a strategy, we can and should be really leaning into what the blue economy is, and how important it is to the region." Brown said seCTer is working with a consulting firm to identify sites, even those not on the waterfront, "that could be activated economically" by the blue economy. A blue economy study could have resulted in "incentives, or what- ever the instrument might be, to encourage economic activity where there's really a lot of sites that are doing nothing," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity there." On May 1, a Rolldock Storm heavy-load carrier arrived at the New London State Pier with the first delivery of tower sections for Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project that will generate enough energy to power more than 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Joe Violette

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