Push on to create power towers in N.Y.

Lawmakers propose law to require in-state builds “where feasible”

With plans for a wind turbine tower factory here, the Capital Region has established itself as a center in the state’s growing alternative energy industry.

Now, a group of local lawmakers want to build on that with a call for the actual wind turbines used in offshore development to be made in New York.

“I am thrilled that the Port of Albany was selected as New York state’s first offshore wind tower assembly site,” Democratic Sen. Neil Breslin said in rolling out legislation that would require turbines to be built in the Empire State. “Now we must ensure that the components which go into these towers are manufactured in New York state as well.”

Democratic Assembly members Patricia Fahy, John Mcdonald and Phil Steck support the measure, as do the state’s two U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, and a number of labor unions.

“The state should do all it can to ensure that in addition to construction work and ongoing operations, manufacturing of offshore wind turbines create good jobs for New Yorkers,” added state AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento.

But is it feasible to demand that turbines feeding New York’s grid be built in the state? Currently, the massive turbines that power offshore wind projects are made primarily in Europe, where that industry has a 30year history.

Actually, the proposal for a “made in New York” clause says it would be “where feasible,” according to a memo about the bill.

And the offshore wind energy industry is just getting started in the U.S., noted Joe Martens, a former state environmental commissioner and head of the state Offshore Wind Alliance.

Offshore towers are planned up and down the East Coast, but they still need final federal approval, said Martens.

“It is realistic, but what the industry is waiting for is an actual pipeline of projects,” Martens said of the chance that companies would build turbines in New York.

Moreover, other states are like New York, looking to lure offshore wind turbines as well. “We all hope that is the case and there is tremendous competition between the states,” said Martens.

Wind turbines, whose towers can be up to 800 feet tall, are larger than the on-shore wind farms going in across upstate and other spots across the U.S.

While GE makes turbines in Schenectady, those are for far larger traditional combinedcycle power plants, with steam turbines and generators manufactured in Schenectady and the gas turbines elsewhere. Schenectady, however, is home to a remote operation that monitors the operation of thousands of on-shore turbines throughout the United States.

One thing is for certain: New York has placed a big bet on off-shore wind going forward.

The state is looking to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind production off the coast of Long Island by 2035. That would be enough to power about 5 million homes.