The Times Union is reporting U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko on May 6 stopped by the Port of Albany to promote a plan to make the Capital Region into a hub of offshore wind development. The federal lawmakers announced a bill that would deploy offshore wind energy, create 77,000 jobs and cut carbon emissions. The Restoring Offshore Wind Opportunities Act would reverse a Trump-era ban on offshore wind leasing. Gillibrand said in a news release the legislation would "open the gates to innovation in clean energy." President Joe Biden has set the goal to generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.  In January, the administration also announced it would auction off leases to an area of ocean called the New York Bight off the coasts of New Jersey and New York. State lobbying records show that General Electric Co. has recently been meeting with state and local officials about building an offshore wind manufacturing facility in the region. Read the full story in the Times Union.