New York State Building & Construction Trades Council joins New York Offshore Wind Alliance

November 28, 2017 Michelle Froese

The New York Offshore Wind Alliance announced that the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council has joined the Alliance, adding its powerful voice to the more than two dozen leading environmental, business, labor, wind industry and community organizations already supporting the effort to make the Empire State the national leader in offshore wind.

“The New York Offshore Wind Alliance is proud to welcome the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council and its more than 200,000 union workers to the fight for a cleaner environment, renewable energy and a stronger economic future for New York,” said Joe Martens, Director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance and a former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

“If we continue on the path Governor Cuomo has laid out, New York will be the nation’s leader in offshore wind development, powering hundreds of thousands of homes with clean, reliable, renewable energy, and bringing new industries to the state, creating thousands of good paying union jobs,” Martens said. “Other states are looking to expand their offshore wind reach, making it crucial that New York move swiftly to continue to lead.”

“Offshore wind development will be good for Long Island and the whole State with good new union jobs and a new clean energy economy that will benefit everyone,” said Jim Cahill, President of the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council. “Nobody builds better than New York State.”

“Our members have the experience, training, and expertise necessary to complete large, complex projects like this on time and on budget. The New York State Building & Construction Trades Council commends Governor Cuomo’s pro-growth agenda overall and in particular his commitment to offshore wind and renewable energy,” Cahill said. “The Council looks forward to working with the NY Offshore Wind Alliance to bring those jobs and that green energy to New York.”

Other Alliance members include the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Long Island Association, the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, Renewable Energy Long Island, Deepwater Wind, Ørsted and many others. (A full listing of Alliance members can be found below or here.)

Governor Cuomo has set a goal to have 50 percent of New York’s power generated by renewable energy sources by 2030. In his 2017 State of the State address, Governor Cuomo directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop an Offshore Wind Master Plan to advance projects that could power more than 1.25 million homes on Long Island and New York City.

NYSERDA is expected to release a procurement plan that outlines options for purchasing offshore wind energy, and complete the Master Plan by the end of this year.

This Offshore Wind Master Plan should create a roadmap for how New York State can take advantage of the strong winds far off the coast of Long Island and at the same time protect coastal and marine wildlife and preserve existing offshore industries and activities.

Leaders from organized labor and environmental organizations, along with a bipartisan group of elected officials, have united to support the State’s efforts to make offshore wind a key component of the governor’s “50 by 30” strategy to increase renewable energy, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and spur economic development.

“We are eager to see NYSERDA’s Master Plan and to also to learn from the Governor in his State of the State address how New York will continue to be a national leader on offshore wind – both the renewable energy it provides and the jobs it will create,” Martens said.