Last week Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) committed to a plan called Offshore Wind NYC that will invest more than $191 million to make New York City a hub for the offshore wind industry in the region.

New York City has committed to 100-percent clean electricity by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. This requires a shift to renewable energy from many sources—from rooftop solar and utility-scale renewables to energy storage. Offshore wind (OSW) has an important role to play in the decarbonization of NYC’s electric grid.

The plan argues that with the right investments, offshore wind can become a cornerstone of New York City’s burgeoning green energy economy, with the potential to:

• Create over 6,000 accessible jobs and generate $1.3B in average annual investment.
• Ensure that 40% of job and investment benefits are directed toward women, minorities, and environmental justice communities.
• Reduce 34.5 million short tons of CO2, valued at $1.6B, using clean offshore wind power (the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from the road for 15 years)

The goal is to develop best in-class infrastructure that will support the construction and operation of 12GW of offshore wind. New York City, centrally located near planned offshore wind lease areas on the East Coast, is ideally positioned to host the supply-chain activities associated with building and managing offshore wind farms.

In partnership with Equinor, a global offshore wind developer, the NYEDC is leveraging its $57M investment in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park to turn it into a world-class offshore wind port.

“Research and innovation is critical to the U.S. offshore wind development. NYCEDC’s contributions will result in a broad base, diversified industry in NYC,” says Carrie Cullen Hitt
Executive Director, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium.

Read the Offshore Wind NYC plan.