June 24, 2013 — A shabby old fishing port on the South Coast of Massachusetts was once known as the City That Lit the World. Its whale oil powered candles and lamps around the country.
Now, the city is trying to rekindle that flame with an alternative form of energy: offshore wind.
A Distant History Of Wealth
New Bedford's glory days are long gone. The city suffers from a long list of woes — high crime, persistent unemployment and poor public schools.
For generations, the sea was New Bedford's lifeblood. Now, the water is still there, but the wealth is gone.
You can see just a glimmer of New Bedford's old opulence shining through its cobblestone streets and the whaling captains' old mansions.
"On the eve of the Civil War, New Bedford was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States," says Mayor Jon Mitchell. "New Bedford was to whaling what Detroit was to automobiles."
Striving For New Opportunities
On a chilly May morning, Mitchell joined state officials and local union representatives to break ground on the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal –a 100-million dollar state-funded project.
The port is being described as the first of its kind in the country — big enough to transport wind blades the length of a football field. Locals hope it will serve as the hub for the offshore wind industry and bring in jobs. New Bedford's current employment rate is among the worst in the state.
The Energy Department estimates that if the U.S. takes advantage of its wind potential by 2030, some 20,000 jobs could sprout up around the offshore wind industry.
A quarter of the nation's wind reserves lie just south of Martha's Vineyard, and New Bedford is the closest deep-water port. Mitchell says his city is sitting on the Saudi Arabia of wind.
"New Bedford is the biggest commercial fishing port in America," says Mitchell. "We know what we're doing out on the water."
Read the full story and listen to an audio clip at NPR affiliate WBUR