Senator Edward J. Markey and Congressmen Bill Keating and Jake Auchincloss toured the site of Bristol Community College’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) training facility
United States Senator Edward J. Markey and Massachusetts Congressmen Bill Keating and Jake Auchincloss joined Bristol Community College on Thursday, July 8, for a press conference and tour of the future site of Bristol’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI) located on the waterfront of New Bedford. The future, approximately 30,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, will provide robust workforce and training programs when it is completed in Summer 2022.
Following a tour of the future site by Bristol Community College Interim Vice President of Economic & Business Development Jennifer Menard, the event featured an on-site press conference, including remarks from Bristol Community College President Laura L. Douglas, United States Senator Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Congressmen Bill Keating and Jake Auchincloss and New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.
“I want you to imagine that this building will become a world-class training center that prepares workers for challenging and dynamic environments - an essential link to support the offshore wind industry covering a wide variety of needs - safety, technical skills and so much more,” said Bristol Community College President Laura L. Douglas. “The offshore wind sector is poised to create thousands of job opportunities across a wide range of industries and Bristol’s NOWI will provide a critical component of the offshore wind sector’s infrastructure and ensure Massachusetts will be competitive and supported in this growing sector.”
“Through the development of this remarkable facility and a comprehensive wind energy training curriculum, Bristol Community College will open career pathways for local students, provide advanced training for those in the field, and help employers build and sustain their workforces. Our institutions of higher education and unions across the country will play a leading role in our clean energy revolution by training the minds who will build, connect and maintain our wind energy. That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce the Offshore Wind and Opportunity Act with Congressman Bill Keating to provide these institutions with the critical resources to power up our clean energy workforce,” said Senator Edward J. Markey.
"Today's tour of the Bristol Community College National Offshore Wind Institute reinforced what we already know: that New Bedford is ground zero for the offshore wind industry in the United States," said Congressman Bill Keating. "The skills taught at NOWI will enable a new generation of green energy workers to help build and maintain our first-in-nation, large-scale offshore wind projects here in Massachusetts and around the country. The National Offshore Wind Institute is a model program for communities across the nation to replicate as they prepare for the future of offshore wind, and I will continue to highlight this program as we work to pass The Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act in the House which will provide more than $25 million annually to help support this program and the many others that will follow. NOWI is putting in the work today to set a national example of what needs to be done to ensure that America’s workers build America's offshore wind projects."
“This will be a generational investment and a generational hub in clean energy and economic development for Southeastern Massachusetts. And I, along with my partners in federal, state, and local government, as well as education and non-profit, am committed to continuing to provide financial support as well as political support to make this a hub for clean energy revolution,” said Congressman Jake Auchincloss.
“Bristol’s National Offshore Wind Institute will serve to strengthen what is already America’s finest maritime workforce. As we prepare to stage the East Coast’s first industrial-scale offshore wind farm from New Bedford, NOWI will be an innovative pillar of the city’s leadership position in the offshore wind industry,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.
Bristol Community College’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI), located at 198 Herman Melville Boulevard, in New Bedford, will feature an innovative practical training section, combined with theory and classroom work. NOWI will simulate real-world environments, utilizing a large deep-water training pool for sea survival and crew transfer courses. Connected to the pool will be a basic safety and advanced rescue simulator, where delegates will learn through practical experiences and reproduce the experience of scaling a turbine, transporting equipment and conducting a rescue.
Bristol‘s NOWI has partnered with globally recognized Maersk Training to provide the offshore wind industry with a one-stop-shop for training, certifications and customized programs for its workforce including global wind organisation (GWO) training such as basic safety, blade repair, technical skills in mechanical, hydraulics and electrical areas, and other in-demand programs. Bristol also offers an associate degree program in offshore wind power technology as well as a certificate to become an offshore wind power technician.
The NOWI will provide a critical part of the offshore wind sector’s infrastructure and is helping to ensure that Massachusetts will be competitive and support this industry and its supply chain to grow here in the commonwealth.
For more information about Bristol Community College’s National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI), please visit www.nowi.org.