New York State Announces First Major Offshore Wind Energy Awards

Today,  This afternoon at Fordham Law School, Governor Cuomo, with former vice-president, Al Gore, announced that Equinor and a joint venture of Orsted and Eversource Energy are the successful bidders in the State’s first-ever offshore wind solicitation conducted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Corporation.

When completed, these projects will provide 1,700 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity into New York’s grid, accounting for 20 percent of the Governor’s overall goal for offshore wind. Orsted and Eversource Energy will provide 880 megawatts and Equinor will provide 816 megawatts.

These projects, totaling 3.2 billion will great 1,600+ jobs. New York’s solicitation is also the first in the country to require a prevailing wage and Project Labor Agreement for the construction of the projects, ensuring that high-quality jobs with good wages and benefits will be created by New York’s investment in the offshore wind industry.

Lara Skinner, Executive Director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and an expert on the labor and employment impacts of climate change and the clean energy economy at, says, “I commend Governor Cuomo and his administration’s commitment to building this industry with strong labor, community and environmental standards.”

In 2017, The Worker Institute released a report on a climate jobs program for New York State.

“We need energy infrastructure for the 21st century that powers our economy, protects our environment, and lifts working people,” says Skinner.  “New York State is showing the rest of the country how to do this.”