Community Offshore Wind Submits Proposal to Deliver Clean Energy from Offshore Wind for New York Communities

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The proposed project will:

  • Generate enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of New York homes
  • Create almost 700 direct jobs and drive approximately $3 billion in economic activity
  • Provide a key building block for New York to meet its clean energy goals and support large, energy-intensive economic development projects
  • Invest up to $250 million in union workforce development, environmental funding, STEM programming in Title 1 Schools, and resources for Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs)

New York, September 9, 2024

Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture of RWE and National Grid Ventures (NGV), today submitted a proposal to provide enough new offshore wind power to New York to power hundreds of thousands of homes. If selected for the state’s fifth offshore wind solicitation, this project would significantly advance New York’s clean energy goals while driving large-scale job creation and economic growth. The proposed project would be developed in the New York Bight lease area that RWE and NGV secured in 2022, which has a capacity of up to 3 GW of offshore wind energy.

As New York continues to lead the country in innovation, reliable clean energy is necessary to support the current pace of economic growth. New York needs significant new generation capacity from clean energy, and offshore wind remains uniquely positioned to deliver given its scale. Community Offshore Wind is poised to deliver this needed clean electricity to meet rising demand while increasing grid reliability and delivering significant local economic benefits.

The project will also mark a major step toward achieving Governor Kathy Hochul’s 10-Point Action Plan to expand and support the large-scale renewable energy industry in New York, while also diversifying the state’s sources of electricity and helping combat the impacts of severe weather.

Community Offshore Wind’s project will be a major driver of economic growth in New York. The proposed project will directly put nearly 700 people to work and drive approximately $3 billion in economic activity. Community Offshore Wind is committed to building on its unwavering commitment to union labor and utilizing New York’s skilled union workforce for construction of the project while investing in workforce training to ensure more New York workers can access good-paying union careers.

Community Offshore Wind is committed to ensuring that New Yorkers across the state benefit from this economic growth. The proposal includes a commitment to invest up to $250 million in New York’s workers and communities, including programs and services that address barriers that frequently prevent New Yorkers in disadvantaged communities from accessing job opportunities. If awarded a contract, Community Offshore Wind will invest heavily in wraparound services for workers, job training programs, STEM education and technical assistance for small businesses. Specific initiatives include:

  • Partnering with the United Way of New York State to provide reduced-cost childcare services for all offshore wind workers and trainees in New York, addressing a challenge that holds many working parents back from securing stable, good-paying careers;
  • Free swimming lessons for 10,000 children from disadvantaged communities. Swimming is not only a critical life skill, but also a prerequisite for working on offshore wind projects.
  • A Wraparound/Barriers Fund to eliminate barriers to workforce participation by partnering with community organizations to address transportation gaps; enhancing language access by providing robust ESL resources; and providing basic needs such as laundry services, business attire, warm clothing, and pioneer legal aid for justice-involved individuals pursuing clean energy careers.
  • A Powering Up the Workforce Fund that will create a career-readiness curriculum and fund mentoring for youth and adult underemployed populations. Community Offshore Wind is collaborating with organized labor to ensure participants in this career-readiness program are prepared to succeed on union jobs. 
  • An Education Fund that will support K-12 STEM programming in Title 1 Schools, with a focus on providing creative, experiential learning opportunities for students that will prepare them for jobs in offshore wind and other STEM-related careers.
  • A Supply Chain Fund earmarked for programs to strengthen New York’s local offshore wind supply chain. Through working capital loans, technical guidance, and mentoring for small businesses, M/WBEs, and SDVOBs, this initiative will prioritize supporting businesses in underserved communities.

These community investments would add to Community Offshore Wind’s commitment to New York to date, including donating more than 3,000 STEM-focused books to families in Brooklyn, cleaning up more than 1,000 pounds of garbage from the Long Island and Brooklyn waterfronts, and providing 30,000 fresh seafood meals to food banks throughout the state.

“The buildout of offshore wind is an opportunity to do far more than just expand New York’s clean energy capacity, and we’ve designed a project that will deliver new economic opportunity to every corner of the state,” said Doug Perkins, President & Project Director of Community Offshore Wind. “Offshore wind is necessary to meet rising energy demand and enable New York’s economic growth, and our project’s investments will create good-paying union jobs and help build an offshore wind supply chain that benefits the region. We’re committed to working with NYSERDA to achieve Governor Hochul’s nation-leading clean energy goals and New York’s leadership in offshore wind.”

“For the past two years the Community Offshore Wind team has been on the ground in New York neighborhoods listening to what communities need and want,” said Pat Johnson, Vice President and Deputy Project Director for Community Offshore Wind. “These community relationships and conversations have helped us build a proposal that will meet the needs of New York. Community Offshore Wind is committed to using our project to create accessible and equitable economic opportunities, and by investing in the local supply chain and workforce development programs, opening doors to new opportunities for New York’s families and workers.” 

Community Offshore Wind is committed to the safe and responsible development of offshore wind and to supporting the region’s recreational and commercial fishing industries. The new proposal also includes funding for conservation and fisheries support programs. These investments will build on Community Offshore Wind’s groundbreaking Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that will transform environmental monitoring for offshore wind projects and increase transparency between researchers and developers.

RWE is one of the world’s largest offshore wind companies and a leading developer of clean energy in the United States with a track record of success that includes the development and operation of 19 offshore wind farms worldwide and more than 9 GW of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage across the U.S.

National Grid and its legacy companies have operated in the northeast for over 125 years and the company employs more than 5,000 people in the New York area. National Grid Ventures leads the industry in subsea cable capabilities. The company’s North Sea Link projectis the world’s longest subsea interconnector, and it connected the world’s largest offshore wind farm to the electric grid.

Learn more about Community Offshore Wind at https://communityoffshorewind.com/.