10 States Sign Offshore Wind Energy Consortium

10 East Coast states and the Department of the Interior (DOI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to officially create the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium. The states also plan to promote solar and biomass power along with offshore wind. With a tornado of controversy swirling around offshore oil drilling these days, the door has been thrown open to newer, safer, cleaner technologies, i.e. the abundant wind energy itself swirling about the Outer Continental Shelf.

Federal approval of Cape Wind, the United States’ first offshore wind farm near Cape Cod, essentially gave offshore wind the green light up and down the nation’s coasts. This agreement by the DOI and 10 East Coast states essentially assures us that wind energy will be developed in abundance with the full support of federal and regional governments.

The 10 states to sign the memo are: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. Six states also formed intergovernmental “leasing task forces” to develop and facilitate leases for private companies to build offshore wind farms. Florida and South Carolina did not sign the memo, but are developing leasing task forces as well. Apparently, Georgia is cooperating in some way, shape or form.

The promotion of wind, solar and biomass energy is not limited to installations. The states have also pledged to encourage local manufacturing of energy equipment, hopefully creating a trifecta of green jobs in construction, operation and manufacturing of renewable energy systems in the region. A regional, centrally located DOI renewable energy office has been created in Virginia to help coordinate efforts.

Via CleanTechnica
Photo Credit: MSNBC

Posted on June 14th in Solar News, Solar Politics by Dan.