"Biden Bets Offshore Wind Will Fix His Climate Jobs Problem"

"Offshore wind offers President Biden one of his best opportunities to marry his climate and jobs agendas. It comes as his administration approved the nation's first major wind project off the East Coast.

The president often touts the promise of jobs within his climate plan, arguing that massive investments in renewable energy and grid infrastructure will increase employment for blue-collar Americans.

The only problem: Renewables and organized labor are not traditional allies.

Just 4% of U.S. solar workers were unionized at the end of 2019, according to a joint report by the National Association of State Energy Officials and the Energy Futures Initiative. For wind energy, 6% of the workforce was unionized. Those numbers are about half as large as the proportion of union workers at natural gas plants (11%) and coal plants (10%).

Enter offshore wind."

Benjamin Storrow reports for E&E News May 12, 2021.

Source: E&E News, 05/13/2021