Environment America
The Obama administration has announced competitive lease sales for wind energy development in areas off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia. This is the first time that a portion of the outer continental shelf will be leased for renewable energy development.
The area proposed for leasing off of Virginia’s coast is expected to be able to support more than 2,000 megawatts of wind generation—enough electricity to power an estimated 700,000 homes. The area of mutual interest proposed for leasing off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island is expected to be able to support about an additional 2,000 megawatts of wind generation.
“We have enormous potential for harnessing pollution-free wind energy of our coasts, and now are closer than ever to making this vision a reality in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia. We are thrilled that the Obama administration has announced another critical step forward for offshore wind development and look forward to continuing to work with state and federal leaders to see turbines spinning off our coasts soon,” said Courtney Abrams, Environment America’s federal clean energy advocate.
“Tapping into the power of our offshore wind resources is vital to ensuring a future with cleaner air and fewer extreme weather events. Along the Atlantic coast alone, reaching the Department of Energy’s goal of 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power would reduce global warming pollution by the equivalent of taking roughly 18 million cars off the road. Meeting this benchmark would also generate $200 billion in new economic activity while creating more than 43,000 permanent, high-paying jobs in manufacturing, construction, engineering, operations and maintenance, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“We applaud this step forward and the Obama administration for their leadership in ensuring that responsibly-sited offshore wind becomes a reality in the United States as soon as possible.”
Visit EcoWatch’s RENEWABLES page for more related news on this topic.
The fragmentation of ocean habitat with all the anthropogenic stressors that are involved with such an industrial complex of windmills to produce 54 gigawatts of electricity will render species extinctions and additional losses of diversity and density. Do the math. Studies are planned for the next eight years, with a ten year build for the Atlantic Wind Connection that plugs in all the wind farms. Even fully funded, which it is not (Cape Wind-any investors?), the earliest realized production would be 2030?
Is wind energy even viable in this area of ocean with salt intrusions, mechanical failures, lightning strikes and superstorms to contend with? There is not even one permitted turbine prototype in this mid-Atlantic off-shore region to test these theories. The technology requires gear oil, replacement items for the 7000 part machinery, an electrical backup network from land to oscillate blades into wind greater than 40 mph (turbines need to shut down during high wind events.) And a human crew, to risk all in building and maintaining such equipment.
We should, as sentient beings on planet Earth, rethink our energy greed to HEAL ecosystems. The animals that need the oceans to free range, cetaceans, sea turtles, tunas, sharks etc. need our full cooperation and sympathy.
Save the turtles! Keep giving subsidies to companies that drill oil in other parts of the world. Let them destroy peoples envionments in less developed countries!
I for one think this is a positive development. More reasearch should be done to mitigate potential disastourous impacts.
Wind is the lesser of all evils. Yes, we need to reduce usage. We do use too much energy of all types. The current fracking rush, with concomitant frac sand rush, is like a cancer in our land. We will not have any farmland left. Here in Wisconsin, they are doing hill removal. Yes we have a low ‘mountain’ range in the Driftless Region and it is being decimated, along with the aquifer that has provided Wisconsin with pure drinking water for millenia. In Wisconsin there is viruatlly no regulation of this industry. I would rather have wind turbines in the Great Lakes than benzene in my drinking water.
Agree that this is the lesser of all evils. Marine ecosystems cannot survive CO2 enduced climate change. This is a good news story in the sense that it’s something that will reduce emissions. I still think it’s too little too late however.
Thorough studies will be conducted as part of the regulatory framework to determine potential ecological receptors, viability of the communities, migratory patterns ect. This is required. Any significant impacts to stressed communities will nullify use of that area. Off-shore drilling, commercial and recreation vessels, and leaking or uncapped oil wells have a far more significant impact than a turbine or gear oil could every contribute.
Design considerations will obviously be made to modify land based turbine materials and hardware to provide the corrosion potential and resiliency needed for a harsh ocean environment.
In addition to ecological studies, feasibility studies are conducted to determine the most ideal locations, wind patterns, potential necessary power offsets, as well as prototype designs to study effectiveness. Hence, the long duration of the process.
Without a doubt we need to reduce our consumption as a nation including energy, however, we still need to provide a more sustainable and environmentally friendly means other than drilling offshore. As with Deep Water Horizon, we have seen the potential impacts of human error. There are many leaking and uncapped offshore oil wells in the Gulf that many are not even aware of.
As the to comment coining positive development the destruction of others ecosystems and threatening others health instead of ours, that is greed and ignorance. Not only disrespectful of the human race putting more worth on ourselves than someone in a less developed country, but ignorant in that we are all living in one huge living ecosystem. The air we breath, water we drink, everything, is ultimately tied to one living thing, the Earth and pollution sources migrate. If we could stop the migration of air/water pollution it sure would be easier to manage
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Hello, we need a National Feed in Tariff, for Solar and Wind, with laws that level the playing field, this petition starts with homeowners in California. Japan, Germany, and our state of Hawaii, will pay residents between 21- 54 cents per kilowatt hour, here in California they will pay us 5 cents per kilowatt hour, and they wont let us oversize our Solar systems, want to change our Feed in Tariff? Campaign to allow Californian residents to sell electricity obtained by renewable energy for a fair pro-business market price. Will you read, sign, and share this petition?
http://signon.org/sign/let-california-home-owners
Ditto what Veronica Brown says! As a person in NY State who continues to fight the possibility of fracking starting here I also feel I want the sand in Wisconsin to stay in place there. In Wisconsin the sand should continue to be a natural water purification system! Also, I absolutely do not want pollution of the air, water and land in NY State to happen from hydrofracking. Hydrofracking uses a number of lethal chemicals such as benzene that have sickened and killed people, animals, fish and birds. Hydrofracking causes devastation to the land, water and air for centuries in the states that allow it. Fossil fuel source bring lots of money to the oil and gas industry since there are few if any regulations and laws in place. We must use wind, solar, geothermal and wave to provide energy for us and if we intend to continue to live on our great planet Earth, we must stop the use of all fossil fuels. It is definitely possible once we get the heavy hand and foot of the oil and gas industry out of the driver seat.
With all the improvements in monitoring wind turbine blade manufacturing and producing turbines that are less likely to fail, offshore wind is becoming a better option. These better manufactured turbines should require less maintenance and less expense from servicing.