Last month, WDI entered into an agreement with Ørsted/Eversource - joint partners on the Sunrise Wind Farm (an 880 MW offshore wind farm to be located at least 30 miles off of Long Island) - to provide support for the creation of a national offshore wind training center.
A centerpiece of the proposal Ørsted/Eversource made to New York State for the Sunrise Wind farm was a commitment to provide seed funding for the creation of a National Offshore Wind Training Center in Suffolk County. Described as a new model of partnership between industry, labor and academia, the Center concept was memorialized in a Memorandum of Agreement endorsed by the following organizations, which also agreed to serve as the founding members:
- Long Island Federation of Labor
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- Nassau & Suffolk County Building and Construction Trades
- Utility Workers Union of America
- Blue Green Alliance
- Suffolk County Community College
- Con-Edison
- Ørsted/Eversource
WDI’s work will be to support the development of a consensus-based strategy to create the following:
- A blueprint and business plan for the Center
- A public training program/education campaign to increase awareness about the benefits of offshore wind and the jobs associated with it
- A framework/methodology for the continuous assessment of offshore wind workforce needs and opportunities in New York State
The U.S. offshore wind market is anticipated to be a nearly $70 billion opportunity for businesses participating in the supply chain, and could create between 45,000-83,000 jobs by 2030. For over a decade, WDI staff has been working to help push this industry forward so that these jobs can be realized. Our work has included convening labor unions, environmental organizations and businesses to foster discussion around and development of an offshore wind industry in New York. We launched the first offshore wind supply chain database so that businesses could understand how they might participate in the industry, and prepared and extensive study of the phases and jobs associated with offshore wind (link to our study).
The goal of this most recent initiative, in collaboration with Ørsted/Eversource and partners, is ultimately to help connect New Yorkers to good paying jobs in the offshore wind industry.
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