BlueGreen Alliance Comments on the U.S. Wind Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
When done right, offshore wind power will create thousands of high-quality, family-sustaining jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations and maintenance, and in the development of port facilities, transmission, and other associated infrastructure.
Offshore wind energy presents a unique and integral opportunity to create good-paying jobs for U.S. families, if developed in a way that lifts up workers with high-road employment practices, equitable career pathways, maximum job creation, and creation of a domestic supply chain. Robust NEPA analysis is key to ensuring that projects fulfill their potential as transformational solutions to the intersecting environmental, public health, and economic crises of our time and move nimbly through the permitting process in compliance with state and federal laws.
Plans to support the utilization and growth of a domestic supply chain should be analyzed and evaluated to maximize U.S. employment for the projected life cycle of the project. A recent study by researchers at Princeton University found that increasing domestic content in renewable energy projects can create tens of thousands of American jobs without significantly increasing capital costs.
The Environmental Impact Study should also evaluate the programs necessary for training and expanding the domestic workforce with an emphasis on ensuring opportunities for displaced energy workers, as well as fostering equitable access to career pathways in the industry.
Particular attention should be paid to creating jobs in construction, manufacturing, and operations and maintenance for residents of the impacted region.