Riverkeeper joins New York Offshore Wind Alliance

More than 2 dozen environmental, business, labor, developer, and community organizations are members.

New industries, thousands of well paying jobs will be created if NY becomes national offshore wind leader while protecting the marine environment.

Albany, N.Y. – The New York Offshore Wind Alliance today announced that the nationally prominent environmental group Riverkeeper, which formed 50 years ago to protect the Hudson River, has joined the Alliance and the more than two dozen leading environmental, business, labor, wind industry and community organizations supporting New York State’s effort to become the national leader in offshore wind, while protecting the marine environment.

Riverkeeper, which began as the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association with the mission of restoring the Hudson River, is joining the Alliance because “offshore wind development can be the right move to protect our environment, the right move to create a clean, reliable energy future, and the right move to strengthen our economy with new jobs and new industries, as long as the marine environment is protected, too,” Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay said.

“As New York’s Clean Water Advocate, Riverkeeper has long been a leading voice in protecting New York’s environment. That’s why supporting offshore wind development off the coast of Long Island and New York City, in a manner that protects the marine environment, is the right and smart call for us,” Gallay said.

“We know that replacing dirty, polluting, carbon-producing energy sources with clean, renewable energy sources is a win-win for the people of the state. And, we know that the NY Offshore Wind Alliance is committed to protecting our marine environment and our fishing industry while advancing us towards a safe, reliable, sustainable energy future. We urge Governor Andrew Cuomo and his administration to do everything they can to ensure that the Empire State leads the nation in habitat- and fisheries-friendly offshore wind development,” Gallay said.

Joe Martens, Director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance and a former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said: “The New York Offshore Wind Alliance is delighted that Riverkeeper, with its strong environmental history and commitment, has joined our Alliance to help build a renewable energy future with a cleaner environment for all New Yorkers.

“Riverkeeper, along with virtually every other major New York environmental organization, recognizes that offshore wind employing best practices for the marine environment and the fishing industry is good for our environment, our energy future and for a brighter economic future. Governor Cuomo has laid out a path that can make New York the national leader in offshore wind development. Now, with other states trying to outdo New York, it’s incumbent upon our state leaders to ensure that New York obtain not only the environmental and energy benefits of offshore wind, but also the economic development benefits and the new industries and jobs that offshore wind will create,” Martens said.

Other Alliance members include the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Long Island Association, the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, Renewable Energy Long Island, Deepwater Wind, Ørsted and many others, A full listing of Alliance members can be found below or here.

Governor Cuomo has set a goal to have 50 percent of New York’s power generated by renewable energy sources by 2030. In his 2017 State of the State address, Governor Cuomo directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop an Offshore Wind Master Plan to advance projects that could power more than 1.25 million homes on Long Island and New York City. NYSERDA is expected to release a procurement plan that outlines options for purchasing offshore wind energy, and complete the Master Plan by the end of this year.

This Offshore Wind Master Plan should create a roadmap for how New York State can take advantage of the strong winds far off the coast of Long Island and at the same time protect coastal and marine wildlife and preserve existing offshore industries and activities.

Leaders from organized labor and environmental organizations, along with a bipartisan group of elected officials, have united to support the State’s efforts to make offshore wind a key component of the governor’s “50 by 30” strategy to increase renewable energy, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and spur economic development.

“We remain eager to see NYSERDA’s Master Plan and to also learn from the Governor in his State of the State address how New York will continue to be a national leader on offshore wind – both the clean, renewable energy it will provide and the jobs it will create,” Martens said.

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About the New York Offshore Wind Alliance

The New York Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA) is a diverse coalition of organizations with a shared interest in promoting the responsible development of offshore wind power for New York. A project of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY), NYOWA has a particular focus on Governor Cuomo’s goal of creating 2,400 MW of offshore wind power by 2030.

About Riverkeeper

Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect the environmental, recreational and commercial integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and safeguard the drinking water of nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents. We began as the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association and, over 50 years later, we are New York’s clean water advocate, having helped set worldwide standards for waterway and watershed protection and serving as the model for more than 300 Keeper programs around the globe.

Members of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance

Alliance for Clean Energy New York

AWS Truepower

Bryan Cave

Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Deepwater Wind

EDP Renewables

Environment America

Environment New York

Environmental Advocates of New York

Long Island Association

Natural Resources Defense Council