ALBANY — Developers of a wind farm 30 miles off Long Island are providing $300,000 to train residents of Albany’s South End neighborhood to help build it.
Orsted and Eversource, partners in the 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind Project, announced the funding Wednesday with local officials and potential interns at the Multi-Trade Apprenticeship Readiness Program training center in Albany.
It is drawn from the $1 million Upper Hudson Workforce Development Fund created by the Sunrise Wind Project.
Sunrise is one of the first major offshore wind projects in the United States, and one of the largest. A whole supply chain and supporting apparatus must be created for this.
More than 150 miles from the area where Sunrise will be held, foundation elements will be constructed in Coeymans Harbor and towers will be constructed in Albany Harbor.
Residents of the South End, which adjoins the Port of Albany, are targeted for job training because it is a historically disadvantaged neighborhood, with lower incomes and greater exposure to air pollution.
“This is a long-awaited and exciting opportunity that will provide skills training and sustainable union employment opportunities for low-income residents and people of color in the South End neighborhood of Albany,” the mayor said. Kathy Sheehan.
The goal is to recruit low-income and/or workers of color into careers that allow them to support a family and bring more diversity to the building trades in the process.
The new funding will cover salary, training and emergency financial needs for 15-20 participants each in 2022 and 2023.
Structured on-the-job and classroom training is designed to equip participants to navigate a union learning program.
Offshore wind is part of New York State’s plan to achieve a zero-emissions power grid by 2040. The goal is at least 9,000 megawatts of electricity generated by offshore wind turbines from here 2035.
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