Senate bill would create grant program for offshore wind education, training
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is proposing a bill that would create a grant program for offshore wind educational and career training.
The bill would direct the Energy Department to work with stakeholders to identify the offshore wind industry’s educational and career training needs before the grant program is set up.
The grants could be used for worker training, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and other activities to address the workforce needs of the offshore wind industry. The grant program would be authorized at $25 million a year from fiscal year 2020 through 2024.
The United States is expected to install a total of 22,000 megawatts of offshore wind projects by 2030 and 86,000 MW by 2050, which would create thousands of jobs in coastal communities along the Atlantic Coast.
“America’s clean energy future is blowing in the offshore wind,” Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “Offshore wind will create thousands of new jobs in New England, and we need to provide the cutting-edge skills in the jobs of tomorrow that can meet the changing needs of the workforce. We can harness the hard work and ingenuity of our workers as we harness this exciting new clean energy source that will grow our economy and help combat climate change.”
Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also co-sponsored the bill.
“Deploying offshore wind energy will lead to cleaner air, more reliable power and good-paying clean energy jobs,” Carper said. “As our country’s offshore wind industry accelerates, the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act would ensure American workers have the opportunity to take advantage of this new economic opportunity. Making smart investments in our workforce today – like the ones made in this legislation – takes us one step closer to the fair, clean energy economy of the future.”
Rep. William Keating (D-MA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“At a moment in our history when we are at a true crossroads with climate change and the need for clean energy, we are proud in Southeastern Massachusetts to be developing one of the first off-shore wind energy sites in the country,” Keating said. “The jobs created here will coexist with our traditional economy, benefit new industries, and improve many communities while protecting our environment in a responsible way. There are plenty of hard-working Americans who are ready, willing, and able to train in the wind industry, which has a proven track record of creating long-term, high-paying jobs.”
