GE proposes two offshore wind facilities in New York

GE Renewable Energy (GE, Paris, France) has submitted a plan to construct two new manufacturing facilities in New York alongside the Hudson river if it wins a sufficient volume of orders from customers in the state’s ongoing solicitation for up to 4.6 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind.

To support localized content and New York’s vision to become the nation’s offshore wind manufacturing hub, GE proposed building the factories with Carver Companies (Coeymans, N.Y., U.S.) at the company’s Port of Coeymans site. These facilities are designed to advance New York as the foundation of a clean energy economy while supporting the local community through durable jobs and positive economic impact.

Should GE receive sufficient order volume, GE subsidiary LM Wind Power (Kolding, Denmark), is ready to build a state-of-the-art facility to manufacture offshore wind turbine blades — creating approximately 650 direct jobs, with approximately 35% of those jobs coming from disadvantaged communities. Approximately 900 additional indirect jobs and more than 500 construction jobs would be created along with millions of dollars of related economic benefits.

GE Vernova, GE’s portfolio of energy businesses, proposed building a state-of-the-art facility to build nacelles, which house the generating components of a wind turbine. This facility would create approximately 220 direct jobs, with approximately 35% of those jobs coming from disadvantaged communities. Additionally, almost 500 indirect jobs and approximately 500 construction jobs would be created along with millions of dollars of related economic benefit. 

Together, the two facilities would produce components for the next generation of GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine. 

Related to its commitments to hire and train new employees from economically disadvantaged communities, GE will launch an outreach program called Pathways to Wind to provide historically under-served communities exposure, education and training in the emerging offshore wind industry. In support of that program, GE has engaged 24 educational institutions, including Office of Workforce Development and Community Education at SUNY Schenectady County Community College and SEAT (Social Enterprise and Training) Center and signed 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with New York entities that will enable the company to enhance diversity and inclusion in its efforts to staff the facilities.

Moreover, GE says its approach to environmental compliance and mitigation will ensure its development and operation of the offshore wind turbine blade and nacelle facilities at the Port of Coeymans will satisfy all federal, state and local laws.