LI needs a diverse supply chain for offshore wind

Growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, many of my friends’ parents worked for Grumman, Hazeltine and other defense manufacturers. It seemed like everyone was an engineer. Grumman had a robust network of subcontractors employing thousands of local workers. While those days are gone, the businesses that comprise the supply chain have survived, with hundreds of small-to-mid-sized manufacturers serving many industries.

Now, for the first time since the demise of Grumman's Bethpage plant in 1996, we are witnessing the birth of an industry whose economic impact on the state and region could rival the post-WWII defense boom. Offshore wind will create a robust supply chain and drive workforce development projects that will produce more than 10,000 high-wage jobs, both union and nonunion, on Long Island and statewide. Moreover, offshore wind developers’ commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice means that minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOBs) will compete on a level playing field.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has wisely built in requirements to its offshore wind lease bids requiring developers to detail how they will ensure that New York small and diverse businesses including certified MWBEs and SDVOBs receive training, funding and opportunity pathways. This is a critically important first step to engaging the culturally diverse businesses that drive our economy. Historically, these companies rarely got an equal chance to participate as early adopters in an emerging industry.

NYSERDA has created a supplier database of 1,500 companies interested in offshore wind work. Manufacturing giants like General Electric are required to consult that database before looking outside the state. We need far more participation by local companies to be accurately represented through direct industry and community outreach programs with nonprofits, government, and industry partnerships

Responses to New York's third round of offshore wind requests for proposals are becoming public. If Attentive Energy One (AE1) wins that bid, it has promised $19.5 million to create the New York State Supply Chain Development Partnership, part of a larger $300 million community investment program. AE1’s funding would help the Institute for Workforce Advancement and its statewide partners create a network to conduct grassroots outreach to MWBEs and SDVOBs, offer wraparound services to help these businesses connect to resources, and provide access to grants and/or low-cost loans for equipment upgrades and staff training via a community investment fund provided by AE1.

Each region of the state will have a role in the supply chain based on its manufacturing and services capabilities, but the supply chain must be seamlessly interconnected. This would be a game-changing program that eliminates our competitive regional fighting through a cooperative of nonprofit organizations.

Other significant commitments include Community Offshore Wind, a National Grid and RWE joint venture, pledging $100 million for economic development and workforce programs, with several million dedicated to a workforce training center on Long Island to support programming for public schools and adults from underserved communities. Orsted has launched a $10 million investment in the National Offshore Wind Training Center; Vineyard Offshore and Equinor are making similar commitments.

Leveraging significant offshore wind industry investments and government funding will create a powerful, equity-based business ecosystem interconnected from upstate to downstate. This must start now, lest we lose opportunity to competitors outside of Long Island and New York State.

This guest essay reflects the views of Phil Rugile, executive director of the Institute for Workforce Advancement, an advocacy and training organization for the advanced manufacturing industry, and OSWSupplyChain.org.