Port of Albany gets permit for wind manufacturing plant

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Port of Albany has received state permits to begin limited site work, preparing for an offshore wind manufacturing plant. The plant will be North America's first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility.

“This is an exciting step in moving forward with the project,” said Rich Hendrick, CEO of the Port of Albany. “We continue to work diligently with the permitting agencies and our project partners on making progress to bring the nation’s first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility to New York.”

The limited site work includes developing site access haul roads, grubbing and mowing in isolated areas, grading of the site, installation of groundwater monitoring wells, stockpiling of imported aggregate on site, and the surcharging of the site to reduce the potential for differential settlement in building footprints. A local construction company has been contracted by the Port to execute the initial phase of the project. This phase of the project is projected to continue into the new year, and will generate around 500 jobs just in the construction phase alone.