Almost four years after the first wind turbines began commercial operations in American waters, and three weeks before an election that could change federal policy on climate change, speakers at the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Windpower Virtual Summit said it is time to engage everyone in the need for an energy transition.

“We’ve got to scramble all the jets in terms of the talent we need to attack the climate challenge and unlock the climate opportunity,” said Ali Zaidi, New York Gov. Anthony Cuomo’s deputy secretary for climate policy and finance. “That means people from all disciplines joining us. It means people bringing a diversity of backgrounds and skillsets.”

Marine biologist Ayana Johnson, co-founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, which describes itself as a think tank for the future of coastal cities, sounded a similar message.

“I think this is a moment in human history where we all need to think really carefully about what we’re good at and what we can contribute to [climate] solutions. There are plenty of problems [and] plenty of work to be done. So, the question is, how are we each best suited to make things better,” she said.

For Johnson, the answers led her and journalist Alex Blumberg to launch a podcast on climate solutions, “How to Save a Planet.” She also co-edited an anthology of essays and poems, “All We Can Save.” And she helped craft Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s “Blue New Deal,” a plan for restoring ocean habitat and adapting to climate change.

But while Johnson has found her place, she fears many others haven’t been engaged.

“The environmental movement and … renewables [supporters] haven’t done a great job of describing what the future looks like if we get it right,” she said. “We have tons of media about the apocalypse and the day after tomorrow and the uninhabitable earth, and the fire and brimstone. But we don’t have [a picture of] what if we do put offshore wind in all these places? What if we do have great public transit? What if we do transition to regenerative farming? What does that look like?

“And so a lot of my work right now is about how do we make more concrete what we’re working towards so we’re not just [saying] ‘Oh, I should run away from the apocalypse,’” she added. “We’re not running, honestly. We’re just kind of sauntering away from the apocalypse. And we need to pick up the pace.”

AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan said the offshore wind industry needs to speak as one voice to realize the potential of 83,000 new jobs and $57 billion in investments the organization estimated in its economic impact assessment earlier this year.

“We do now have lots of different organizations advocating for offshore wind, and we’re not always perfectly aligned,” Kiernan said. “By working more as one, we can help our government partners do what we are asking them to do. So, for example, we are asking the federal government to establish transparency and consistency in the regulatory process. … We’re asking them to finalize additional wind areas and subsequent lease areas that can be auctioned. And we’re asking them to continue engaging with the fishing industry to find solutions that work for all of us.”

Kiernan said that was the motivation for AWEA’s decision to merge into a new group that also embraces solar power and storage, the American Clean Power Association. It is expected to launch in January.

“Working powerfully and at scale together, we can have a bigger influence with Congress, the administration and with state capitals throughout the country,” Kiernan said. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a whole new energy industry for America.”

Among the companies that have agreed to join the new organization are EDF Renewables, Berkshire Hathaway and NextEra Energy. Notably, the Solar Energy Industries Association has declined to join, although it says it expects to work with the group.

Eric Thumma, who leads Avangrid Renewables’ U.S. OSW commercial activities, was also bullish on the economic impact of the new generation. “We’re talking about very large capital expenditures that are going to have significant multiplier impacts,” he said.

Thumma said Avangrid estimates its Kitty Hawk project off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia could produce 2.5 GW of power and $2 billion of benefits through the development and construction of the project through 2030. “That doesn’t count approximately $100 million annually of wage increases and jobs that we’ll have through the next 25 years of operations and maintenance,” he said. “These projects can be economic engines. [Combining the Kitty Hawk project and Dominion Energy’s 2.6-GW OSW project off Virginia], you have a pretty big amalgam of 5 GW of projects.

“What drives investments are the power purchase agreements and [offshore renewable energy credit] agreements. [States have] really laid out a schedule that we can have confidence in that there’s going to be solicitations. That allows us to start talking about our ongoing investments and give the supply chain some confidence that those [requests for proposals] are going to be there.”

Thumma said states could do more, however, by working more closely together on their OSW plans.

“We’ve sort of seen these [procurements] as one-offs. … As a former state official, I understand the simplicity of it and the motivation to do it. But is there a way to further collectively rationalize and work together on these projects? And if you did that, would there be some spillover effects into other areas of policy, like transmission interconnection, where we know there’s going to need to be cooperation in order to enhance the industry? I set that forward as a charge to the states to see if we can have some additional state leadership and cooperation in those areas.”

Chris Hart, president of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture of EDF Renewables and Shell New Energies that is developing an OSW project off of Atlantic City, N.J., said the industry’s success will depend on collaboration with fishing interests and other stakeholders. To that end, the company hired two lifelong New Jersey fishermen as liaisons to the recreational and commercial fishing industries.

“They really put their reputation as fishermen on the line by working with the offshore community. We don’t take that lightly,” he said. “We’re working with them to build a collaborative, respectful relationship with a very tightly knit community that makes up New Jersey fishermen.

“We have to listen more than we speak. … We don’t have all the solutions. We may not even have the right problems identified. We need to listen.”