Money will fund infrastructure development at
ALBANY— Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that the Albany Port District Commission was awarded $18.79 million for projects aimed at attracting high-tech manufacturing businesses to New York by developing infrastructure. The Port was one of seven award winners statewide through Empire State Development’s FAST NY Shovel-Ready program.
In a written statement, Port CEO Richard Hendrick said, “This is great news and will provide critical infrastructure installation, enabling additional maritime commerce!” Hendrick said the Port will use the grant to install new electrification infrastructure, including a high-voltage substation, a sanitary wastewater treatment plant, and a fire protection system—critical components for any major development.
Penelope Vavura, the Port’s director of external affairs, said the Port applied for the grant to support the expansion of Beacon Island, the 85-acre site the Port purchased in 2018 as part of an economic land development initiative on the Hudson River.
“It’s nice to be recognized for the potential that the project has,” Vavura said, noting that Beacon Island was one of only two Capital Region sites to receive funding through the FAST NY grant.
She said the grant will fund everything the Port requested in its application.
“The work can start immediately,” she said.
Vavura emphasized that the FAST NY grant is particularly important because it allows for the construction of infrastructure to provide immediate and sufficient energy access—an essential and often challenging requirement for manufacturing sites. With its own substation to generate energy, she predicted that Beacon Island will become an even more attractive manufacturing base.
Winds blowing in another direction
Vavura’s comments represent a slight shift in focus. Roddy Yagan, the Port’s senior construction project manager at Beacon Island, previously said the Port purchased the land to build components for offshore wind turbines in partnership with Marmen, a Canadian company that manufactures wind towers. Yagan had said the project would create about 600 permanent jobs with a 30-year commitment.
However, the Trump administration has recently disrupted the green energy sector.
“We are moving forward and considering what’s next,” Vavura said, referring to the political uncertainty surrounding green energy initiatives, such as wind power. “Given where the federal administration is right now, any green energy initiative is so uncertain,” she said.
Upon taking office, Donald Trump signed an executive order halting all leasing of federal waters for offshore wind projects and pausing new or renewed approvals for both onshore and offshore wind initiatives indefinitely. According to the executive order, the federal government will review wind leasing and permitting practices, including the impact of subsidies on the industry’s viability.
Following his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump said during a rally, “We’re not going to do the wind thing.”
As reported by Newsweek, Trump’s executive order could jeopardize hundreds of wind power projects nationwide. The magazine cited an analysis by a financial data firm estimating that up to 89% of undeveloped wind projects are at risk due to the order.
“This is the billion-dollar question for the industry because a lot of projects around the country have been put on hold, or projects are pivoting,” Vavura said. “We are also getting a lot of mixed messages.”
As a result of this uncertainty, Vavura believes “everyone is rethinking everything and is in a wait-and-see mode.”
“We are still looking for manufacturing, but we don’t know what that means now because with this administration, they are all over the map,” Vavura said.
The New York Times recently reported that an Italian company canceled plans for a wind plant in Massachusetts that would have supplied undersea cables for new offshore wind turbines.
The Port has already invested $160 million in developing the site, not including the nearly $19 million FAST NY grant.
“Everyone is being incredibly cautious and not saying one way or the other,” Vavura said. “If Marmen doesn’t come, we would look at other options.” To her knowledge, Marmen has not ended its relationship with the Port.
Marmen did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Despite the uncertainty caused by Trump’s executive orders, Vavura remains confident that the land will be used.
“We won’t change our course of its development because of Trump’s actions,” she said. She added that even if Trump shut down wind energy, the site would still be developed with the goal of bringing in manufacturing jobs.
Hendrick said the Port has always been a key regional economic driver, with an annual impact of more than $428 million, supporting approximately 1,400 local jobs and 4,500 jobs throughout the state.
“There’s going to be a project, and we will see economic benefit from it, but we may just have to refocus with what’s going on in the world,” Vavura said.
