Labor
groups
inked
a
first-of-its-kind
deal
to
support
local
hiring
and
union
jobs
with
the
developer
of
New
York’s
first
offshore
wind
port.
It’s
an
agreement
for
the
South
Brooklyn
Marine
Terminal,
envisioned
as
a
crucial
onshore
staging
area
for
some
of
America’s
first
commercial-scale
offshore
wind
farms.
The
US
gets
very
little
electricity
from
offshore
wind
today,
even
though
the
resource
has
the
potential
to
meet
up
to
a
quarter
of
the
nation’s
power
needs
by
2050.
The
very
first
set
of
offshore
wind
farms
are
being
built
off
the
east
coast,
a
key
part
of
the
Biden
administration’s
efforts
to
transition
the
country
to
clean
energy.
Policymakers
say
good
jobs
are
another
pillar
of
that
transition.
And
they
hope
this
new
agreement
sets
a
precedent
for
that,
even
as
the
burgeoning
offshore
wind
industry
tries
to
overcome
recent
setbacks.
“This
is
what
should
happen
throughout
New
York
with
future
agreements
and
throughout
the
country
as
well
—
good
paying
labor
jobs.”
“I’m
so
proud
of
the
signing
of
this
agreement
because
this
is
what
should
happen
throughout
New
York
with
future
agreements
and
throughout
the
country
as
well
—
good-paying
labor
jobs,”
Senator
Chuck
Schumer
(D-NY)
said
during
a
signing
ceremony
held
in
New
York
City
yesterday.
The
plan
is
to
make
over
the
South
Brooklyn
Marine
Terminal
into
a
port
facility
dedicated
to
offshore
wind,
where
turbine
components
can
be
staged
and
assembled
before
being
brought
out
to
sea.
It’ll
also
connect
New
York
City
to
Empire
Wind
1,
one
of
the
nation’s
first
large-scale
wind
farms
to
be
built
around
15
miles
off
the
coast
of
Long
Island.
The
terminal
will
host
a
substation
for
Empire
Wind
1
and
serve
as
a
home
base
for
maintenance
work.
Empire
Wind
1
is
expected
to
be
fully
operational
by
the
end
of
2027,
and
construction
at
the
South
Brooklyn
Marine
Terminal
could
start
as
early
as
next
week.
“Equinor’s
Empire
Wind
is
a
critical
project
for
the
state
of
New
York,
and
the
redevelopment
of
the
South
Brooklyn
Marine
Terminal
is
the
linchpin
for
offshore
wind’s
potential
to
create
jobs
and
supply
chain
investments
throughout
the
state
and
the
region,”
Christopher
Erikson,
business
manager
at
Local
Union
No.
3
of
the
International
Brotherhood
of
Electrical
Workers
(Local
3,
IBEW),
said
at
the
event.
Equinor
declined
to
share
the
full
text
of
the
agreement,
but
it’s
supposed
to
lead
to 1,000
union
construction
jobs
at
the
South
Brooklyn
Marine
Terminal
and
several
hundred
long-term
jobs
at
the
site
once
construction
at
the
port
is
complete.
It
includes
a
requirement
to
prioritize
hiring
locally,
particularly
veterans
and
residents
of
public
housing
and
the
surrounding
neighborhood
of
Sunset
Park,
Brooklyn.
For
years,
advocates
in
Sunset
Park
have
fought
to
redevelop
the
waterfront
into
a
center
for
clean
energy
jobs.
Equinor
signed
the
agreement
with
the
Building
&
Construction
Trades
Council
of
Greater
New
York
and
Vicinity,
an
organization
encompassing
15
unions
representing
100,000
workers.
The
company
also
says
the
agreement
“promotes
engagement”
with
minority-owned,
women-owned,
and
service-disabled
veteran-owned
businesses.
Equinor
has
recently
paused
development
on
an
even
larger
New
York
project
called
Empire
Wind
2.
Together,
the
Empire
Wind
1
and
2
farms
were
expected
to
eventually
generate
enough
power
for
more
than
a
million
homes
(2
GW).
In
January,
Equinor
canceled
its
agreement
with
New
York
state
for
the
planned
1,260MW
Empire Wind 2
project,
citing
“changed
economic
circumstances
on
an
industry-wide
scale.”
Projects
across
the
US
have
been
hit
hard
by
inflation,
high
interest
rates,
and
supply
chain
disruptions.
Equinor
will
likely
attempt
to
renegotiate
a
new
agreement
at
higher
rates
to
take
all
those
factors
into
account.
“Local
three
and
the
New
York
building
trades
have
been
reliable
allies
in
getting
offshore
wind
industry
off
the
ground
despite
a
very
challenging
2023,”
Molly
Morris,
president
of
Equinor
Renewables
Americas,
said
during
the
signing
ceremony
held
at
Local
3,
IBEW’s
training
center.
New
York
has
the
most
robust
offshore
wind
development
pipeline
in
the
nation,
with
five
projects
in
the
works.
A
project
developed
by
Ørsted
and
Eversource
called
South
Fork
Wind
started
delivering
electricity
to
Long
Island
from
its
first
operational
turbine
in
December,
making
it
the
first
utility-scale
wind
farm
to
power
up
in
federal
waters.
(Originally posted by Justine Calma)
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