Letter to Long Island Congressional Delegation
May 12, 2020
Long Island Congressional Delegation:
Wind power is a central facet of the clean energy economy of the future. The wind and renewable energy commerce industries are among the fastest growing in our country. Wind represents a powerful weapon in the fight to reduce carbon emissions. According to the American Wind Energy Association, offshore wind project development, construction, and operations can support up to 83,000 jobs and $25.4 billion per year in economic output by 2030.
As New Yorkers recover from the health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 virus, it is essential that we help to ensure the job creation, resiliency, and economic stability that renewable energy projects can bring. And Long Island is poised to play a central role in the development of offshore wind (OSW) power in New York. Governor Cuomo has set an unprecedented goal of producing 9,000 megawatts of electricity from OSW by 2035, and three major OSW projects are already set to be sited off Long Island shores. These projects offer the opportunity for significant economic development, the creation of a skilled green-economy workforce, and establish a foothold in what will be a major industry in the near future – all the while taking important steps to combat climate change.
The South Fork Farm, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind projects off Long Island will eventually power over one million homes, create more than 1,600 new jobs, and pump $3.2 billion of private investment into the state’s economy. OSW is vital to the growth of Long Island’s economy, workforce, and overall sustainability.
For these reasons, the Long Island labor movement and Climate Jobs NY are asking you to encourage the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to establish new Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for the New York Bight. BOEM released draft WEAs in November of 2018, but unfortunately there have yet to be any status updates since.
It is imperative that BOEM establish new WEAs in the NY Bight, of sufficient scale to be cost- competitive, and begin the leasing process swiftly to ensure robust competition and competitive pricing.
We are hoping that the delegation will make clear to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt the importance of issuing the final NY Bight WEAs as soon as possible so there can be an auction for those lease areas this year. An auction for new lease areas will result in billions of dollars of new investments. This is just what is needed to revive our economy after we emerge from the public health crisis.
In addition, the Long Island labor movement hopes the delegation will advocate for extensions to the investment tax credit and production tax credit and the addition of storage to the ITC. These incentives would better equip the nascent offshore wind industry in the United States to inject billions into the economy and provide tens of thousands of family-sustaining wages and benefits for communities across the country. We also believe it is vitally important that requirements for labor standards be attached to any investment tax credits, so that these public investments in vital climate infrastructure also create good jobs that can support families and communities.
We are hopeful that the Long Island congressional delegation will be the driving force in ensuring that Long Island is at the forefront of the wind industry. The opportunities are exponential. Climate Jobs NY and the leaders of the Long Island labor movement will engage with your respective staffs in the coming weeks to discuss further action. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jeff Vockrodt Executive Director, Climate Jobs NY
John Durso President, Long Island Federation of Labor
Matthew Aracich President, Building & Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk
