Democratic Congress representatives from Massachusetts and Arizona have introduced the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act, legislation to educate and train a new generation of US offshore wind workers.
The new federal grant program created by the legislation will assist universities, state and local governments, unions, and nonprofits to develop curricula, internships, health and safety programs, and other activities deemed appropriate by the Secretaries of Energy, Labor, Interior, and Education to develop an offshore wind workforce.
The bill prioritizes grants to community colleges, organizations that service minority populations, and those helping workers from other industries transition to the offshore wind industry.
“The UWUA applauds the introduction of the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act, recognizing the bright future of off-shore wind energy production along the Eastern seaboard, and around the world,” Mike Langford , National President at Utility Workers Union of America, said.
“By equally supporting a wide variety of workforce development strategies targeted at this growing energy sector, including union training and apprenticeship programs, this bill points the way to a future of high-quality, middle-class jobs in off-shore wind. Emerging energy technologies will continue to grow and, more than ever, our nation needs the leadership shown by this bill to build the worker and community-supporting clean energy economy of tomorrow.”
A recent report by the Environment Maine Research and Policy Center has shown that offshore wind off the US Atlantic Coast could produce four times more electricity each year than the region currently uses.
According to the report, offshore wind could provide the states with 4,574 terawatt hours of energy, even after excluding areas not suitable for current technology and off-limits areas.