In an op ed in the Boston Globe, Derrick Jackson looks at the opportunity to make New Bedford a center for wind turbine production, bringing as many as 70,000 jobs to the economically depressed city.

FOR NEW Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, offshore wind is “not just an industry with abstract benefits.’’ It’s a jobs creator.

The industry could support up to 70,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the North Atlantic region by 2030, with up to $14 billion-a-year’s worth of construction, operations, and maintenance, according to analysis released last month by the Department of Energy.

“These results are strongly based on the local sourcing assumptions. If more components and services were sourced locally, the numbers could increase by three to fourfold,” the analysis said. Read more.