Denmark points way for wind-powered future
Danish officials discuss industry, investment planned for Albany port
Denmark is showing the Capital Region what the offshore wind power industry can do to remake an economy without it being a zero-sum game.
And business and government policymakers are taking notice from the Scandinavian country, which has transformed itself into one of the leading renewable energy producers in the world over the past several decades, with a special focus on offshore wind farms.
On Tuesday, Albany’s Center for Economic Growth hosted a virtual summit on the topic of offshore wind development, following the state’s announcement in January that the Port of Albany, on the Hudson River, would host the first U.s.-based offshore wind turbine tower assembly facility.
The selection of the Port of Albany — the Port of Coeymans just south of there will also play a role — was the result of years of effort by the Cuomo administration to encourage offshore wind farm development off the shore of Long Island. That move is attracting billions of dollars of investment in the state — much of it from overseas — while helping Gov. Andrew Cuomo achieve his renewable energy goals for the state.
The goal is to create 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity in the state by 2035, enough to power six million homes and carry 30 percent of the state’s electrical load. Such a buildup would lead to 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars in infrastructure investments in New York, supporters say.
Danish officials participated in the summit, along with local civic and business officials, including Doreen Harris, the CEO of NYSERDA, the state’s renewable energy development
agency.
“This is one of my favorite topics to talk about,” Harris said during the summit. “It’s many, many years in the making, and this is really the beginning. The Capital Region offers a very significant value proposition to this industry. We’re talking about hundreds, and thousands, of jobs coming our way.”
And Denmark has provided a guide for how to get there. The small country surrounded by water has literally built its economy on energy production from renewable sources in the past 40 years.
“We do believe these two countries (Denmark and the United States) can learn from each other and inspire each other,” said Lone Dencker Wisborg, Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S. “We look forward to it.”
Denmark is actually helping CEG educate the local business and political community in creating its own offshore wind industry, which was jump-started in January when the Port of Albany and the Port of Coeymans were named as production facilities for two offshore wind farm developments awarded by
NYSERDA. The two facilities are expected to hire 1,300 workers to help assemble offshore wind farm parts starting in 2023. A third wind farm off the New England coast will provide electricity to New York state as well.
The projects are expected to attract $14 billion in investments. The Port of Coeymans will be making foundations for the wind farms. A Norwegian firm called Equinor will be operating at the Port of Albany.
James Glennie, an offshore wind expert with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that unlike in the U.S., energy policy and environmental policy in Denmark are intertwined, along with domestic security. Renewable energy accounts for 80 percent of the country’s output, an incredible number that went from zero during the OPEC embargo in the 1970s. The Cuomo administration is looking to a similar model.
“There was a lot of industry separation (in the past),” Glennie said. “It’s very important to address policy across departments. It’s really important to set a long-term vision, and not just set it but hold onto it.”