Offshore breezes are strong and steady—ideal for consistent wind power generation. Actually, building the wind farms in several feet of water is the tricky part, but the Obama administration is moving forward with plans to do just that. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) announced that the new plan is “smart-from-the-start,” protecting the environment while quickly finishing the building process.
The new wind farms will be built off the shores of New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia; the advantage these states all have in common is that the regulatory approval process is supposed to be quicker. The states in question will also receive the benefit of (potentially) thousands of new jobs from this mid-Atlantic project and lots of clean electricity to boot.
Smart From the Start
Just tramping into the water and erecting massive wind turbines is difficult enough without adding extra variables to the mix, but the mid-Atlantic project will be doing exactly that. The turbines will be placed where they won’t disrupt the local ocean ecosystems and wildlife, in accordance with the National Ocean Policy in place since 2010.
Published by the NRDC itself is a statement from Kit Kennedy, Clean Energy Counsel at the Natural Resources Defense Council:
“Harnessing the wind blowing off our shores will allow us to power American homes with clean, domestic energy – and create tens of thousands of badly-needed jobs in the process. By developing these resources in a way that’s smart from the start, the administration can give this budding industry the boost it needs to start delivering the economic, health and environmental benefits it promises. It’s time to capture this untapped potential and for the offshore wind industry to take flight in the Mid-Atlantic.
“NRDC will be carefully reviewing the documents released by federal authorities today to ensure that appropriate environmental protections and mitigation measures have been incorporated and will continue to advocate for smart siting of offshore wind projects.”
This project follows several other recently-announced offshore wind farms in Europe, and precedes a big North American offshore wind power conference one of our writers will be attending.
Questions? Opinions? Let us know in the comments, below.
Source: NRDC | Image: Wikimedia Commons
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