Interior Sec. Haaland to Visit Albany, Talk Offshore Wind

ALBANY, N.Y. — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will travel to Albany, New York, Thursday to discuss offshore wind energy and how it ties into President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda. 

Haaland is set to talk with local leaders about how “Bidenomics” and the Investing in America agenda will support the industry and lead to job growth.

The visit to Albany is likely because of the revolutionary offshore wind project found just off the coast and run by the Port of Albany. The port is in the process of building the nation’s first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility.

Total investment for the project is expected to be over $350 million. 

The project, which began in 2018, is located on Beacon Island, directly off the coast of the Town of Bethlehem. 

The Times Union, a news outlet based in Albany, reported that the Port of Albany project faced delays in February due to rising costs of steel and concrete, along with approval delays. 

Continued investment in the offshore wind industry, along with investments from private entities, will help complete this project. The state of New York has a set goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% of its 1990 levels by 2030. Biden’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% of the United States’ 2005 levels by 2030.

This offshore wind project could play a part in these goals if finished in the next few years. 

This is likely why Haaland is making the trip.

“Bidenomics” is Biden’s policy for economic growth, “from the bottom up and middle out.” It goes hand in hand with his Investing in America agenda, which has pumped over $470 billion of private sector investments into generating a “clean energy economy.”

This has included massive investments in solar and wind energy infrastructure projects, along with investments in the clean energy workforce. 

All of which have been a part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Biden has made a central part of his presidency.

Currently, the U.S. has two operational offshore wind farms, off the coast of Virginia and Rhode Island. But like the Port of Albany, many other projects are in the works. 

The American Geosciences Institute, a nonprofit made up of geoscientific and professional organizations, reported the advantages and disadvantages to wind farms. 

The advantages include having higher and steadier wind speeds than on land, while the disadvantages are the expense, maintenance and the visibility from the coast. 

Regardless, Biden has included offshore wind production as a component of creating a clean energy economy in the United States.

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