NYS Laborers' Wind Summit Underscores Industry Opportunities
New York State Laborers’ Organizing Fund (NYSLOF) Held First Wind Energy Summit – Building Wind Power in NY.
The summit brought together developers, contractors and state officials to discuss the current state of wind power development in New York and opportunities available through collaboration.
The summit explored increasing the wind energy sector by developing best practices to achieve Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s goal to have 50% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2030, including procuring 2.4 GW of offshore wind.
According to coverage HERE from WRVO Public Media, state officials are pushing for growth of wind power in New York. Click below to hear the full story.
(L-R) Ross Gould, Workforce Development Institute; Lara Skinner, Workforce Institute & Cornell ILR; Sam Capitano, Laborers' Local 210 Business Manager; Marguerite Wells, Invenergy; Harrison Watkins, NYS Laborers' Organizing Fund
What’s the Goal?
If New York State hopes to reach a goal of getting half of its electricity from renewable resources by the year 2030, wind energy will have to be part of the formula. That was the focus of the summit held in Syracuse, and boosters of wind power are optimistic it will happen.
“What we’re here to talk about is the Article 10 process; how we can collaborate together in getting these jobs started; how we can take advantage, with the resources and expertise we have as a labor organization, to garner support in the communities where these windmills are proposed in.”
“Wind projects have been growing at a rapid pace and are paving the way for future development in the state. The Laborers are a valuable and skilled workforce who have been trained for clean energy jobs. While investing in renewable energy, we must also invest in good jobs.”