Agenda & Speakers

2:00 pm: Welcome and Introductions

• 

  Kevin Knobloch

  • National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium | Acting Executive Director
  +

Kevin Knobloch



• National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium

  Acting Executive Director

Kevin Knobloch is Acting Executive Director of the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, beginning in that role in June 2022. He is also President of Knobloch Energy, an independent advisory and consulting firm providing strategic and tactical guidance to mission-driven companies, agencies, and nonprofit organizations in the clean energy and clean technology sectors.

Previously, Mr. Knobloch was President of New York OceanGrid LLC, where he led Anbaric’s efforts to develop offshore wind transmission in New York from 2018 to 2020. Prior to joining Anbaric, Mr. Knobloch was a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at the Tuft University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he co-authored, with Professor Bobbi Kates-Garnick, the report Clean Energy Policy and Expanding Markets: Insights from Corporate, Labor and Investor Leaders.

Mr. Knobloch was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Energy in President Obama’s second term, working with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in that role from June 2013 through January 2017. He was President of the Union of Concerned Scientists for ten years. Earlier in his career, he served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth of Colorado, Legislative Assistant for U.S. Representative Ted Weiss of New York and Director of Conservation Programs at the Appalachian Mountain Club.

He is a Distinguished Associate at the Energy Futures Initiative and a member of the National Commission on Grid Resilience. He also serves on the Northeast Clean Energy Council Board of Directors and on the Advisory Board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University. He holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

2:10 pm: A National Overview of Offshore Wind

• 

  James F. Bennett

  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) | Senior Advisor
  +

James F. Bennett



• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

  Senior Advisor

Jim Bennett brings more than 42 years of Federal experience to the challenging issues of resource management on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Prior to his current position as Senior Advisor with BOEM, Jim served for over seven years as Program Manager for Federal Offshore Renewable Energy, focusing on activities in the promising waters of the Atlantic. During this time, Jim and his team have overseen the responsible development of offshore wind energy through conscientious planning, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive environmental analysis, and sound technical review.

BOEM’s renewable energy program now manages 27 active leases covering over two million acres on the OCS from Massachusetts to North Carolina. This includes steel-in-the-water for one project and construction and operation plan (COP) approvals for the first two commercial-scale wind farms in U.S. waters. A dozen or more projects will be built upon this foundation over the course of the decade. Further, these efforts have set the stage for additional offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Maine, the Central Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific.

Previously, Jim led the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Division of Environmental Assessment, overseeing the Bureau’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws focusing on Federal OCS programs, including oil and gas, sand and gravel, and renewable energy. His experience encompasses events such as the Exxon Valdez and the Deepwater Horizon oil spills, and the Cape Wind energy project.

Jim is a graduate of the Department’s Manager Development Program and has master’s degrees in Environmental Planning and in Computer Systems Management.

2:25 pm: The Offshore Wind R&D Landscape

• 

  Jan Matthiesen

  • The Carbon Trust | Director, Offshore Wind, Programmes & Innovation
  +

Jan Matthiesen



• The Carbon Trust

  Director, Offshore Wind, Programmes & Innovation

Jan Matthiesen is passionate about wind energy. He started in the onshore sector but has got his feet wet managing all offshore wind activities at the Carbon Trust, such as the Offshore Wind Accelerator, UK’s leading RD&D program for offshore wind. He combines a good awareness of management techniques and a high level of business comprehension with good understanding of engineering principles and the ability to grasp complex technical problems.

He joined the Carbon Trust in 2010 to work on the Offshore Wind Accelerator, a ground-breaking collaborative RD&D project between the Carbon Trust and nine leading offshore wind developers. Prior to joining the Carbon Trust, Jan was Head of Onshore at RenewableUK, the wind energy industry association and accountable for all issues affecting the deployment of onshore wind energy development.