New York City Continues to Lead the Way on Offshore Wind Industry Development throughout the United States

New York State and NYC are Emerging as a National Hub for the OSW Industry with Tremendous Progress over the Last Year

NEW YORK, NY—As Climate Week in New York City wraps up, New York Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and New York City are continuing to advance New York’s offshore wind (OSW) industry, which will play a pivotal role in New York’s just transition towards a clean energy future and create new economic opportunities for all New Yorkers. In September 2021, the City and NYCEDC unveiled a 15-year, $191 million OSW Vision Plan to make New York a leading destination for the industry. Over the last year, tremendous progress has been made to establish New York as the nation’s primary hub for OSW.

New York City is playing a critical role in creating a nation-leading OSW hub by leveraging the city’s expertise in maritime infrastructure development, world-class talent base and workforce development system, and capacity for innovation across sectors—all while centering an equity focus as no other global destination has done before.

“The rapidly growing Offshore Wind industry will play a huge role in New York City’s transition to clean energy and carbon neutrality, while doing so in an equitable way that will create thousands of local jobs,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “This is just the beginning for Offshore Wind in New York City, and we are excited to continue partnering with the private sector and communities across the city to bolster the efforts made in the past year to lay the groundwork for an innovative and high-wage, high-growth industry that all New Yorkers can benefit from.”

“New York City plays a critical role in ensuring the State reaches its nation-leading Climate Act Goals, including the development of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. NYSERDA applauds the city for its continued work in expanding ports and piers, and developing tomorrow’s clean energy workforce, to support the robust development of New York State’s burgeoning offshore wind sector,” said Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA.

"New York City's commitment to offshore wind is not just an investment in clean energy; it's an investment in the future of our communities. Through unprecedented collaboration and equity-centered approaches, the City is setting a new standard for how we can equitably transition to a sustainable economy. At UPROSE, we believe in the power of community-led, just climate solutions, and New York's offshore wind initiatives exemplify that principle. This isn't just about reducing carbon emissions or creating jobs; it's about reimagining what a just and sustainable future can look like for all New Yorkers,” said OSW Advisory Council Co-Chair and UPROSE Executive Director Elizabeth Yeampierre.

"New York City is setting a global standard for sustainable, equitable offshore wind development. The OSW Industry Advisory Council is proud to have contributed to the city's significant achievements in this sector. As we transition to a clean energy future, we are creating an industry that will benefit New Yorkers’ economic future and contribute to a healthier planet. We look forward to continuing our work in establishing NYC as the nation's primary hub for offshore wind,” said OSW Advisory Council Co-Chair and VHB National Director of Offshore Wind KC Sahl.

“Equinor is excited to help launch this dynamic new industry in New York. Empire Wind and Beacon Wind will deliver a key source of renewable energy while bringing economic development and jobs to the region, including the revitalization of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal as a key hub for offshore wind projects both now and into the future. Equinor and bp are proud to partner with NYCEDC, alongside other organizations and community members, to realize the future of this important new industry in New York,” said David Marks, Head of Public Affairs, Equinor Renewables Americas.

“We have great pride in seeing New York City continue to lead as a national example of what strategic, meaningful investments in renewable energy and clean infrastructure can provide to its citizens,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “Clean energy sourced through innovative means like offshore wind, means sustainable economic opportunity now, and for future generations of workers in New York City. Utilizing these pioneering clean energy opportunities will provide a cleaner, healthier environment and thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining careers across New York.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the NYC EDC on the creation of thousands of good union jobs to support the development, construction, operations and maintenance of offshore wind, including building out port infrastructure, and bringing maritime, manufacturing, and supply chain jobs to our City. New York City can be a leader in the development of high quality union jobs and a just transition to renewable energy,” said Vincent Alvarez, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

"Thanks to the generous workforce investments from State and City leadership in government and NYCEDC, Kingsborough Community College, CUNY is building the infrastructure and programs to assist our students with the training needed to become the next generation of maritime professionals,” said Kingsborough Community College President Claudia Schrader. “The investments in the education pipeline will allow us to identify talent from historically underrepresented communities to ensure all New Yorkers can benefit from clean energy opportunities and assist Brooklyn in becoming a major hub for the development of renewable energy.”

“New York City has all the hallmarks to be one of the premiere offshore wind destinations in the world – a portfolio of significant industrial waterfront assets, a skilled and diverse workforce, world class academic and research institutions, and close proximity to federally designated wind energy areas,” said Fred Zalcman, Director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance. “We applaud the Adams Administration and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for providing the vision, leadership and coherent strategy for capitalizing on New York’s unique physical, human and commercial assets and securing the city’s place as a global leader in offshore wind development.”

“It is very exciting to see the great successes and growing momentum we are experiencing within the Offshore Wind Industry over the past year in New York State and City to support clean energy transition goals. Our firm is very excited about the partnerships with NYCEDC, City, Borough, and the Local Rossville Community and the collective progress made to support the future transformation of the Rossville Municipal property. We are looking forward to the upcoming announcements from NYSERDA to accelerate the industry and realize the investment, thousands of great jobs, and benefits offered by the industry,” said David Rickard, Vice President of Development for NorthPoint Development.

The OSW Industry Advisory Council, made up of community, business and nonprofit leaders with relevant expertise and experience, has provided critical guidance and feedback to ensure New York City has a just transition to a green economy and leading with equity while building this industry from the ground up.

Over the last year, New York City has reached major milestones in the development of the best in-class infrastructure that will support OSW construction and operation including:

• This September, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced they completed its environmental review of the proposed Empire Wind OSW projects off New York.
• Last March, Mayor Adams announced an agreement to transform the city-owned South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into one of the largest OSW port facilities in the nation. Over the last year, tremendous progress has been made, with the design review 90% complete. The premier port will be located in Sunset Park and is poised to play a pivotal role as a marshaling port, operations and maintenance base, and electricity interconnection point that will be a forerunner serving US wind farms.
• Last December, NYCEDC awarded a conditional designation as developer to NorthPoint Development with the goal to transform a Rossville Municipal Site, a 33-acre city owned waterfront industrial property in Staten Island into a state-of-the-art OSW port facility for manufacturing and assembling wind turbine components. Additionally, the College of Staten Island will be the recipient of $566,000 of state funding to help train the next generation of professionals for OSW wind careers.
• Improvements to Homeport Pier located on Staten Island’s North Shore are underway. The legacy 1,400 ft US Navy built maritime facility is built for ocean going deep draft vessels. With investment in upgrades to mooring, electricity, and potable water the pier will benefit the OSW wind industry by providing best-in-class vessel tie-up space to support the construction and long-term maintenance and operation of New York Bight OSW farms.
• In October 2022, Empire State Development announced a $48 million federal grant awarded to Arthur Kill Terminal for OSW staging and assembly port on Staten Island.

Immense progress has also been made to prepare local workers & businesses to seize upon economic opportunities that will be created by these infrastructure investments. NYCEDC is working to support the creation of high-quality, family-sustaining jobs. This includes supporting pathways to unionized jobs through pre-apprenticeship programs. For example, with EDC’s support, KCC is offering a pre-apprenticeship program to support students in entering the Seafarers International Union. As a key player in New York City’s maritime economy through our management of ports, piers, terminals, and ferry landings, NYCEDC has direct access to marine and waterfront contracting opportunities.

• Starting September, Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) will offer workforce programs to students interested in entering the OSW industry, including maritime career training, welding training for OSW, and campus upgrades to gain certification for the Global Wind Organization (GWO) training. GWO training will begin next calendar year. Mayor Adams previously pledged $10 million to the City University of New York (CUNY) for capital costs associated with workforce development programs across associated campuses. In September 2022, CUNY and NYCEDC announced six CUNY colleges, including KBCC, as initial recipients of $3.98 million in City funding to help train the next generation of professionals for climate-smart careers.
• In June, NYCEDC launched the Summer of OSW on Staten Island, a free event series that educated Staten Islanders, including families, local businesses, and community institutions, about the existing and future opportunities that the OSW industry will bring to Staten Island communities and the local economy.
• In April, NYCEDC hosted the fourth annual OSW & Maritime Career Awareness Fair where 100 industry representatives and volunteers participated and nearly 500 high schoolers learned more about the developing maritime oriented green energy sector.
• In March 2023, NYCEDC and TMI Waterfront Services launched a first-of-its-kind OSW training program for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MWDBEs) with the goal of eliminating barriers and easing participation in contracts. NYCEDC launched a second cohort on September 20, 2023, and is serving 14 firms.

NYCEDC and New York City have continued to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and a just transition to a green economy. In June 2022, the OSW Innovation Hub opened in Industry City, designed to spark innovation by facilitating testing opportunities, fast-track commercialization, and developing strategic partnerships. NYCEDC, along with Equinor, the Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NY Tandon School of Engineering, and the National OSW R&D Consortium (NOWRDC), found and created the Innovation Hub. In June 2022, NYCEDC released a Request for Information (RFI) for catalytic OSW innovation and R&D project ideas and received 14 responses.

Currently, five OSW wind projects are in active development, three of which will be constructed out of SBMT. These three projects being implemented by Equinor will provide power directly into the New York City power grid. To date, the five awarded projects will power more than 2.4 million New York’s homes and bring a combined economic impact of $12.1 billion to the state.

Last January, Governor Hochul pledged to invest $500 million in ports, manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure needed to advance its OSW industry. The third solicitation includes the first phase of the nation-leading investment. Applications for NYSERDA’s third OSW solicitation closed last February. NYSERDA currently expects to make award announcements by the end of the calendar year.

The City expects these initiatives to remove more than 34 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment — the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from roadways for 15 years — while creating 13,000 jobs related to OSW infrastructure across the five boroughs through NYC sites and infrastructure supporting the construction of 12 GW of OSW energy.

About NYCEDC  
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.