Photo Courtesy of NYC
The ambitious plan will make NYC a leading destination for the offshore wind industry.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The de Blasio administration on Thursday announced a 15-year, $191 million Offshore Wind Vision plan to make the city a leading destination for the offshore wind industry.
The plan also ensures the city meets nation-leading climate goals of 100-percent clean electricity by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050, Mayor Bill de Blasio noted.
According to the administration, the offshore wind investment will put New York City on path to:
- Create over 13,000 jobs and generate $1.3 billion in average annual investment
- Ensure 40 percent of job and investment benefits are directed toward women, minorities, and environmental justice communities
- Reduce 34.5 million tons of CO2—the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from roadways for 15 years.
The City, according to de Blasio and the Economic Development Corporation, will make commitments focused on three core areas: sites and infrastructure, business and workforce, and research and innovation. The city will work to develop best-in-class infrastructure that will support the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. The plan outlines how the city will expand its manufacturing sector to build, stage, and install wind turbines, and ensure they can be serviced and powered locally.
The plan also commits the city to developing public-private partnerships with communities to create good-paying, green jobs in disadvantaged neighborhoods historically impacted by climate injustice. The city will focus on targeted investments to develop workforce trainings and support businesses that seek to create a diverse talent pool in offshore wind. The plan further aims to support Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises and other local companies in accessing over $70 billion expected to be created by the offshore wind industry.
Officials also said that the City will work to promote research and innovation in offshore wind so new technologies and approaches are created in New York City. NYCEDC will work with the offshore wind industry and partners to launch an accelerator that will allow New York-based startups to build out the next generation of offshore wind technologies to support worldwide growth and advancement in the field.
Administration officials also indicated that the City will be looking for help in terms of funding and resources, attracting additional federal, state, and private investments to drive industry growth to make the long-term vision a reality. To help ensure progress is made, NYCEDC will establish an Offshore Wind Industry Advisory Council led by co-chairs Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE, and KC Sahl, Northeast Energy Market Leader at VHB, a civil engineering firm active in the offshore wind industry. The council will be made up of additional community, business and nonprofit leaders with relevant expertise and experience.
“Climate change is upon us, and as Queens knows all too well, transitioning away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable forms of energy is critical to the sustainability and resiliency of our borough and our city,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr. “This massive investment in wind energy and green job creation must be a model for cities and states across the country to follow, and we look forward to making even more investments like these in the years to come.”
