Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo today announced approval of the construction and operation of the Vineyard Wind project, the nation’s first large-scale, offshore wind project. The Secretaries were joined in the announcement by labor leaders who have been working to ensure that the project is built and maintained by union labor. In response, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:

“The nation’s offshore wind industry holds massive—but as of yet largely untapped—potential for clean energy growth and job creation. Today’s announcement signals that we are ready to embrace that potential for the good of our environment and the good of working families. The strong labor support for this project illustrates what we already know, that the advancement of clean energy deployment is enhanced, not hampered, by ensuring that jobs created are high-quality jobs.”