On Thursday, April 21st at The BrickHouse Brewery in Patchouge, NYLCVEF held a happy hour as a part of our What’s Brewin’ Offshore Happy Hour series.
Our What’s Brewin’ Offshore program is a series of happy hours held at local breweries across New York aimed at helping New Yorkers understand the planned and proposed offshore wind projects, the jobs associated with these projects, and how to get involved. In 2021 we held happy hours in Port Jefferson and Long Beach on Long Island. NYLCVEF partners with Climate Jobs NY on this program with help from Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the Long Island Association, and the Wind Works Long Island Coalition.
This happy hour was sponsored by Orsted, the offshore wind company who currently has two active offshore wind projects serving New York, South Fork Wind and Sunrise Wind. Offshore wind is critical to meet New York’s renewable energy goals, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and rebuild around a green energy economy, which will provide family-supporting jobs and improve public health. New York has committed to 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2040, including 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Both Sunrise Wind and South Fork Wind are critical to meeting these unprecedented goals set by the state.
The night was kicked off by enthusiastic remarks from Ed Romaine, Brookhaven Town Supervisor. He spoke about the importance of renewable energy especially on Long Island which is very susceptible to rising sea levels caused by climate change. Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment then presented on current offshore wind projects and the status of the industry. Mariah Dignan of Climate Jobs NY then spoke about the implications of offshore wind on the labor industry and the great opportunity the industry has to create sustainable and secure jobs. Checkout coverage of the event here:
Our next What’s Brewin’ Happy Hour is on June 9th at the Westhampton Brewery. We are also looking to expand the series beyond Long Island and hope to do events in the Capital Region and Queens.
Thanks to all those who joined us last week. Stay tuned for more information on our future What’s Brewin’ events!
