Trade Unions Urge Southern New England States to Triple Their Offshore Wind Commitments

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 18, Advocates say buying significantly more offshore wind would help states boost economies, meet climate goals.

A coalition of trade union groups called Thursday on the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut to sharply increase their goals for developing offshore wind power over the next 15 years to help meet climate goals and boost their economies.

The groups urged the states to set a target of generating 30 gigawatts of power from wind farms off the coast of southern New England by 2040, more than three times as much as their current combined target of 9 GW by 2030, and the same amount as the Biden administration’s national goal by that year. If achieved, the 30 GW target would meet all of the region’s retail electricity demand, and ensure that the current goal is achieved, the groups said in a report.

The higher proposed target was chosen because of rising demand for electricity and the need to set up a domestic supply chain at scale. It was also driven by the potential for wind energy in the North Atlantic area that is much greater than state targets, union officials said.

Southern New England has experienced the most severe average temperature increases in the nation, already surpassing the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and does not have enough land to meet its renewable energy targets with only onshore wind and solar power, the groups argue in the report.