NYPA Proposes Great Lakes Wind Power Initiative to Create Jobs

Posted on April 22, 2009 in The Environment

As part of an Earth Day celebration, the New York Power Authority announced an initiative for the development of wind power projects on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
The Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project will bring renewable energy and thousands of jobs upstate, NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Kessel said.

The project is in support of a recommendation made by New York Governor David A. Paterson to meet 45 percent of the state’s electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and renewable sources by 2015. The NYPA is already moving on the first step of the initiative by releasing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to gather information and determine the feasibility of a wind power development.

“The magnitude of the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project has the potential to not only provide power but also many green collar jobs for the construction, operation and maintenance of wind power facilities,” Michael J. Townsend, chair of the NYPA’s board of trustees said.