National Offshore Wind Training Center Coming To Suffolk

BRENTWOOD, NY — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the next steps for a greener state.

The National Offshore Wind Training Center is set to open in the future Brentwood Community Center, Hochul said. The center will allow New Yorkers to be trained for green energy jobs and will support the state's goal of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.

"We are the epicenter of offshore wind," Hochul said. "And I put $500 million of investment, not just for the programs themselves, but also for the supply chain. I want it all built right here in New York. We have a legacy of building here in this state. We can do it here. Let's make it in New York."

The wind training center, targeting an opening date of next October, will change lives, Hochul said.

"We're changing lives today for the people who get this training, they get the skills, they can have a good paycheck, take care of their families, but ultimately, the lives of generations yet to be born because of the work we're doing to ensure a clean energy future that starts right here on Long Island," she said.

Hochul said the future is off-shore wind.

"I mean, this is where it's happening. It's plentiful supply. It's God-given. It's always going to be there. And I'm so proud that we can make these changes because we've seen the battering that Long Island has taken as a result of climate change."

Hochul said this current generation is the first to feel the effects of climate change but also the last one that can do something about it. She cited Hurricane Sandy, and how tropical storms have hit Long Island more frequently since then.

"The so-called 500-year, 1,000-year events that come every couple of years now," she said.

Hochul added there are heat waves across the country, volatile energy costs because of climate change, and a "truly a worsening of the quality of life for everyone."

"That's the cost of climate change, and we will be the ones who are judged by how we seize this moment - and do we really make a difference? Or do we just pass the torch the next generation and say it's their problem? That's not happening in our New York. And it's not happening here on Long Island. We have the opportunity to seize this moment — to think boldly and go into the future together. And that's exactly what we're doing here in New York with the most ambitious energy and emissions reduction plans in the state."

The governor is targeting the state getting 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and slashing economy-wide emissions by 85 percent by 2050.

The Brentwood Community Center, Hochul said, will be a "one-stop shop" for training, development, and education in Brentwood.

"And Brentwood is an incredibly diverse, fascinating community," Hochul said. "It truly is. It's America in one community, and I love it. And to be able to have this here where there's a school-to-jobs pipeline, where young people can see a path to get out of their circumstances and to lift themselves up. This was the vision behind this project. I think it's extraordinary. Once it's up and running this training center will collaborate closely with our state's Offshore Wind Training Institute and establish more collaboration and cross opportunities with workforce development."

Hochul also launched a $9 million competitive opportunity through the State's Offshore Wind Training Institute, led by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority along with Farmingdale State College and Stony Brook University.