Insights from the Powering Louisiana Forum: What It Means for Wind Energy
By Madelyn Smith, Program Manager, and Karla Frias-Romaine, Senior Program Associate, Southeastern Wind Coalition
This year, we chose to do something different in Louisiana.
For the past several years, SEWC has partnered with GNO Inc. to host Louisiana Wind Energy Week (LAWEW), a conference that brings together wind energy developers, advocates, and supply chain companies to advance the wind industry in Louisiana. It was a valuable event that championed the benefits of wind energy when there was momentum for offshore wind in Louisiana at the federal and state levels. However, with the change in political support for wind energy, we were honest about the event’s limitations - it attracted people who already believed in what we were championing. Hosting LAWEW again in 2026 wasn't going to change any minds, plant seeds with skeptics, or help us build the kinds of relationships that move policy and investment decisions in Louisiana.
This year, we decided that in order to build support for wind energy in Louisiana, we needed to make the case to people not already convinced. We need to be part of conversations about load growth, economic competitiveness, grid reliability, and industrial investment, not just conversations about wind energy.
Last week, our bet paid off. Together with GNO Inc., we convened the Powering Louisiana Forum — a two-day, cross-sector dialogue built around exploring what an all-of-the-above energy approach really means for Louisiana. We brought together 55 utility representatives, renewable developers, industry associations, environmental advocates, port operators, conservative policy groups, industrial energy users, economic developers, and academics for small-group roundtable discussions on Louisiana’s energy challenges and opportunities.
We've already heard early feedback from participants that they appreciated the small-group format and said things in those rooms that they wouldn't have felt comfortable saying in a larger setting. Building honesty and candor across sector lines and ideological differences is exactly what we were hoping to create, planting seeds that will hopefully germinate over the coming months and years.
A white paper by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center summarizing findings across all four roundtables is forthcoming, but we wanted to reflect on what we heard and what it means for wind energy's place in Louisiana's energy future.
All-of-the-Above Is Still the Consensus
Listening across two days of conversation, we heard a broad appetite for a diverse energy mix as Louisiana's most competitive path forward. The state's ability to attract major industrial investment stems from a "white glove" approach to economic development that makes Louisiana easy to do business in. We came away believing that same intentionality and leadership needs to extend to how Louisiana builds out its energy supply and electricity grid. Building a diversified, resilient energy supply can cement Louisiana's competitive advantage in the long term.
Thinking Differently About the Role of Gas
One of the more striking threads we pulled from the conversation was a shift in how we can think about the role of natural gas going forward. Rather than treating gas as the default backbone of Louisiana's grid, what if we approached gas with a different model? Wind and solar can scale quickly to meet Louisiana's growing demand, and natural gas development can be oriented around supporting that diversified mix through peaker plants that fill in when renewables aren't generating. Louisiana's over-reliance on a single fuel source creates vulnerability, and building more combined-cycle gas plants only entrenches that vulnerability. However, targeted and smart gas development can be pursued in the service of a more resilient system.
Louisiana Is Still Ready for Offshore Wind
Despite the current headwinds facing offshore wind nationwide, what we heard from participants reinforced our conviction that Louisiana's offshore wind opportunity remains. This sentiment is backed up by recent polling from the Tarrance Group, which shows that 70% of Louisiana voters support offshore wind projects in the state. The supply chains, workforce, and port infrastructure to support an offshore wind industry haven’t gone anywhere. When new offshore wind development moves forward again in the United States, shipping components built in Louisiana will make sense. Louisiana should be developing a clear supply chain vision now, so that when project commitments come, the state is positioned to capture the full economic and supply chain benefits.
One practical challenge is that offshore wind power, especially early projects, will carry a cost premium. Identifying and cultivating offtakers for offshore wind in Louisiana is one of the most important near-term actions that can support its future.
Watch for Our Forthcoming White Paper
The Powering Louisiana Forum demonstrated that there is an appetite across Louisiana's energy sectors for honest, cross-sector dialogue about the state's energy future. Watch for the forthcoming white paper for a fuller picture of the roundtable findings. In the meantime, SEWC will continue working to ensure that offshore and onshore wind energy has a place in Louisiana's all-of-the-above energy strategy.
