SUNY Poly to advance offshore wind initiatives in NYS
Grants totaling $568K will establish training team, workforce development efforts
Offshore wind energy is already playing a big part in New York State’s plans for a greener future, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute is poised to play in role in making that happen.
Two grants, totaling $568,000, were awarded to SUNY Poly in June. The first grant for nearly $400,000 will establish the SUNY Poly Offshore Wind Training Team (SPOWT²). The SPOWT² will prepare SUNY Poly students for careers in the offshore wind industry, enhance the faculty’s expertise on the subject, as well as fund scholarships for underrepresented and non-traditional populations interested in the field. The project is led by SUNY Poly Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Dr. Zhanjie Li.
The second grant, for $168,000, supports the development of a micro-credential program focused on offshore wind technology and training. This program is a collaboration between Farmingdale State College (FSC) and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), where Professor of Nanoengineering Dr. Haralabos Efstathiadis leads the program to facilitate students gaining hands- on training on state-of-the-art equipment to test materials used in the blades of the wind turbines. They will learn about the development of materials to prevent micro-cracks and also protect them from degradation and corrosion.
The offshore wind training grants were awarded by the State University of New York (SUNY) on behalf of New York’s Offshore Wind Training Institute, which launched in 2021 to advance offshore wind training programs and the educational infrastructure needed to establish a skilled workforce that can support the emerging national offshore wind industry.
Currently, New York has five offshore wind projects in active development, the largest offshore wind pipeline in the nation, totaling more than 4,300 megawatts and representing nearly 50 percent of the capacity needed to meet New York’s nation-leading offshore wind goal of 9,000 megawatts by 2035, which is estimated to power six million homes.
The $20 million OWTI, launched in collaboration with SUNY’s Farmingdale State College, Stony Brook University, and NYSERDA, aims to advance offshore wind training programs and the educational infrastructure needed to establish a skilled workforce that can support the emerging national offshore wind industry. In cultivating a statewide umbrella of industry, academic, trade, and community partnerships, the OWTI will certify and train 2,500 New York workers beginning this year to support both offshore and onshore renewable energy projects.
“Here at SUNY Poly, we pride ourselves on preparing students to enter the workforce and immediately make an impact,” said SUNY Poly Officer-in-Charge Dr. Andrew Russell. “We are excited to work and collaborate with Farmingdale State College on these two projects that are a prime
