- It'll be good to see some data come from it and make sure we're ready to roll.

- [Narrator] James Wiley's company GEODynamics is one of the first companies to work on the offshore wind projects in North Carolina.

- We are the first people to go out and evaluate a potential site to see if it's feasible for consideration as an offshore wind site.

- [Employee] I've Got some cool graphs and such I could show you.

- [Narrator] It's one of the first steps in a very long process.

Wiley says the surveying part is pretty easy, but getting hundreds of these wind turbines out to sea will require lots of manpower.

- So it's gonna require a supply chain to be developed across the board, from some of the obvious things, like hard manufacturing and large scale industry, but also sort of a soft supply chain where we're looking into technical jobs that are based on everything from academic research to highly skilled and scientific positions.

- [Narrator] That means some of these coastal communities will have to develop new training programs to create a strong local talent pipeline.

It will require collaborations at the university and community college level, but also at the middle and high school level.

- I think it is important to remember that if these installations are gonna start really moving forward in seven or eight years that a lot of the folks that are gonna be doing that work are currently in middle school, and so we've got some work to do at the middle school and high school curriculum levels as well to start getting people acclimated and headed down a path towards these kinds of jobs.

- [Narrator] Steve Kalland is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center.

He says it's crucial that North Carolina has the workforce in place to support this multi-billion dollar industry.

- So it means that we're gonna be making parts and assembling pieces that are gonna be creating jobs in an area of the state down at the coast where we have not had a lot of jobs historically, and so there's a lot of opportunity to grow the overall employment sector in the state while creating these manufacturing jobs.

- [James] We'll have a single bed out there.

- [Narrator] One of these communities where there may be a big opportunity is Morehead City, where GEODynamics is based.

- The little crosshair.

- James Wiley says he looks forward to not only the long-term economic impact of coastal wind, but also the short-term impact.

- I think it's an opportunity to build the STEM career path for a lot of people in this area in what's been traditionally a more rural area, less focused on these high paying job opportunities related to engineering and technology as they move into our communities.

- [Narrator] And while offshore wind is expected to bring big dollars to North Carolina, there are concerns about how it may impact coastal tourism and marine life.

That's why Wiley and his company are working to collect data to figure out the best spots in the ocean to put these turbines, so that North Carolina can create jobs and economic impact while also protecting its valuable assets.

[seagulls caw]