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A Q&A with Doug Perkins
President, Project Director, Community Offshore Wind
Doug Perkins, President, Project Director, Community Offshore Wind Len Marks
What impact does clean energy have?
By transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind, we will significantly lessen the impacts of climate change and meet the state’s emission reduction targets. Once in operation, Community Offshore Wind’s project will reduce New York’s electricity system-related carbon emissions by about 5% – equal to mitigating the emissions of 700,000 homes each year.
Clean energy projects like Community Offshore Wind also have the opportunity to make a significant impact by contributing tax revenue, growing local economies and lifting up communities with people-focused programs. Offshore wind presents state and local communities with an opportunity to create the next generation of clean energy jobs. Community Offshore Wind is committed not only to job creation in New York, but to workforce development efforts that will go beyond just job training and will focus on skills development that can be applied across the clean energy economy. We believe that for the industry to drive long-term economic development, we must invest in education and work with community leaders, nonprofits and unions to understand their priorities and ensure that the clean energy transition benefits all New Yorkers.
What role are you playing in promoting clean energy in New York?
Community is at the heart of everything we do. If our bid is selected by NYSERDA, we have pledged to invest millions of dollars in local communities, with a focus on environmental justice communities that have been historically left behind. Beyond the role our project will play in supporting New York’s clean energy transition and increasing usage of renewable power, we are also directly engaging with New Yorkers and their communities across the state and making impactful, targeted investments to address longstanding barriers to economic opportunity and growth. We have a lease area with the capacity to power 1.1 million homes, and our New York project will create about 4,600 jobs across the state, prioritizing those from disadvantaged communities, local companies and the union workforce. All the while, we will generate $15 billion in economic benefits in the first phase of our project. In addition, we’ve pledged $100 million for economic development and workforce programs that will uplift New York’s families, including a $10 million partnership with the United Way of New York to offer financial assistance for childcare for New Yorkers working in offshore wind – even those not working directly for our project.
Our proposed partnerships with major suppliers in New York will allow the state to become a hub of manufacturing, staging and assembly for future offshore wind projects along the east coast, including the localization of turbine blade and nacelle manufacturing at General Electric, and major new developments at the Port of Coeymans and Staten Island Marine Terminal that will create hundreds of new jobs.
How well is New York doing in transitioning to clean energy?
Achieving net-zero emissions is a herculean task, but New York is making measurable progress toward its ambitious climate goals, and we applaud Gov. Kathy Hochul for keeping the state on a path toward success. Simultaneously, as the governor made clear in her clean energy budget investments this year, this transition is an opportunity to invest in and partner with disadvantaged communities in upstate New York, revitalizing struggling localities while creating a clean energy supply chain within the state’s borders.
For our proposed project, Community Offshore Wind facilitated the creation of a steel manufacturing consortium, including Ljungstrom, North Shore Steel, Riggs Distler and Smulders, to bring new steel manufacturing and processing for offshore wind components to disadvantaged communities across the state. We will redevelop an existing site in Orange County to allow for even greater expansion of manufacturing capacity in New York. This partnership alone will create nearly 300 new jobs, while helping to make New York a hub for clean energy manufacturing for years to come.