New York Offshore Wind Alliance Adds Workforce-Dedicated Partners

The New York Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA) has added the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the Long Island Federation of Labor to its membership.

The Long Island Federation of Labor is committed to preparing and mobilizing the workforce as New York’s 9GW offshore wind goal will require thousands of new workers, the organization’s president  John R. Durso said.

The new members have joined almost 30 environmental, labor and business organizations that support NYOWA in the responsible development of offshore wind.

“No state is more aggressive in its pursuit of responsible offshore wind energy than New York,” said Joe Martens, NYOWA Director.

“The goals Governor Cuomo has laid out and the steps that the New York Energy Research and Development Authority have executed will help expand existing businesses, start new ones and revitalize New York’s ports and maritime infrastructure. New York can be the epicenter of this new American industry and capture many of the jobs that go with it.”

At the beginning of the year, the New York State’s Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the target of 9GW of operational offshore wind capacity by 2035. The state had already established a goal of reaching 2.4GW of operational capacity by 2030.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) issued a solicitation in November last year seeking 800MW or more of new offshore wind projects, leading to the state having its first large-scale offshore wind development contracts in place in spring this year.