New York College to Offer Offshore Wind Training Programs

The State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College has received USD 230,000 from the New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office to promote offshore energy workforce development and training programs in New York.

The grant funding supports the creation of an Offshore Energy Center which will offer training programs for wind-operations technicians, dynamic positioning training and certification courses for offshore vessel operators.

The center’s courses will be offered on campus and online, to make the courses accessible to students, working professionals and others.

”This center will assist our nation’s push to renewable energy,” said Capt. Eric Johansson, professor of Marine Transportation at Maritime College.

“New York State is working diligently to ensure that offshore wind is developed in the most responsible and cost-effective way possible. Maritime College is proud to support that effort.”

SUNY Maritime College received the funding as part of a USD 15 million state investment and the first phase of the state’s Climate Jobs NY, a component of the Clean Climate Careers initiative established last year.

The first American offshore wind farm, the 30MW Block Island Wind Farm, opened in 2017 in Rhode Island and more are expected to be built in coming years, increasing the demand for a highly trained wind workforce.

The State of New York has established a goal of developing 2.4GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan will guide the state in reaching this goal, with the first auction for some 800MW of offshore wind capacity expected to be announced in the fourth quarter of 2018.