XPost: dc.politics, alt.politics, talk.politics.guns
XPost: austin.politics

In article <86udbgtcgr2n93rq23s8nd1krne33l38m0@4ax.com>
trumps bitch <patriot1@protonmail.com> wrote:

Democrats are stupid criminals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday launched a formal
partnership with 11 East Coast governors to boost the growing
offshore wind industry, a key element of President Joe Biden’s
plan for climate change.

Biden, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other top
administration officials met with governors, wind industry
officials and labor leaders Thursday at the White House. The
session focused on ways to expand important segments of the
offshore industry, including manufacturing facilities, ports and
workforce training and development.

“Together we’re stepping up. We’re about to build a better
America," Biden said. “It’s not just about the future. It’s
about right now."

The partnership comprises governors of both parties from
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania
and Rhode Island.

Missing from the compact is Virginia, where Republican Gov.
Glenn Youngkin has moved to withdraw the state from a regional
carbon-limiting initiative meant to combat climate change.

Spokesperson Macaulay Porter said Youngkin supports the offshore
wind industry, and his administration has participated in calls
with the White House on the topic.

“The commonwealth is already a leader in offshore wind, and the
Youngkin administration is focused on ... this emerging sector
in a way that is consistent with promoting jobs for Virginia and
its right-to-work philosophy," Porter said, referring to a state
policy that promotes a worker’s right not to be required to join
a labor union.

Youngkin is “fully committed to Virginia’s current offshore wind
project” and will continue to support any future project “that
meets Virginia’s economic needs and protects ratepayers from
high energy costs," Porter said.

In working with states and the private sector, the White House
said it will “provide Americans with cleaner and cheaper energy,
create good-paying jobs and invest billions in new American
energy supply chains," including construction of wind turbines,
shipbuilding and servicing.

Biden has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind
power by 2030, enough to provide electricity to 10 million
homes, support 77,000 jobs and spur $12 billion per year in
private investment in offshore wind. Offshore wind is a key
component in the Democratic president’s plan to make the
nation’s electric grid carbon free by 2035.

The Biden administration has approved two large-scale wind
projects, Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts and South Fork Wind off
New York and Rhode Island. Both are under construction with
union labor. The Interior Department has begun reviews of
another 10 offshore projects that, if approved, would produce 22
gigawatts of clean energy.

Danish wind developer Orsted signed a project labor agreement
last month with a national union representing 3 million people
in the building trades to construct the company’s U.S. offshore
wind farms with an American union workforce. Orsted currently
has six offshore projects in five states.

A national agreement signed with North America’s Building Trades
Unions covers contractors working on those projects and future
ones, with no termination date on the project labor agreement.
It sets the terms and conditions for union workers to build
offshore wind farms, with targets to ensure a diverse workforce.
It contains provisions for training to ensure they can construct
the complex infrastructure, which costs billions of dollars.

“We recognize that states are huge players here," said David
Hayes, a White House climate adviser. With a formal partnership,
the Biden administration can “work with the governors on
policies going forward and help ensure that there is an American-
made supply chain for this brand-new industry," Hayes said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he and other East
Coast governors “are united with our regional and federal
partners not just by geography but by a shared commitment to
clean and affordable energy, economic opportunity and a future
in which all community members are shielded from the worsening
impacts of climate change."

The federal-state collaboration comes as the Biden
administration has announced a plan to conduct up to seven
offshore wind auctions by 2025, including one held last month
off North Carolina and earlier this year in a coastal area known
as the New York Bight. Other sales are expected in the Gulf of
Maine, the central Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as
offshore in California and Oregon.

Environmental and clean energy groups hailed the federal-state
collaboration.

“Today, there are just seven offshore wind turbines in the
United States, and we’re going to need a lot more, done
responsibly, to meet our clean energy goals," said Diane
Hoskins, campaign director for the conservation group Oceana.
She called for “strong safeguards for marine life to avoid,
minimize and mitigate the impacts of offshore wind."

Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, an
industry group, said wind energy developers support the federal-
state initiative. “Clear and predictable permitting for offshore
wind is essential to recognizing its potential, and there is
still work to do," Zichal said.

https://apnews.com/article/climate-biden-and-environment- government-politics-13e5d01c3f43c899e39f337d478c1179

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)