by Jbs062210d3 — June 25, 2010—Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the governors of 10 East Coast states recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formally establishes an Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium to promote the efficient, orderly, and responsible development of wind resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Several wind energy projects for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf have been proposed for East Coast states, positioning the region to tap into the enormous potential of wind power in the U.S. Developing this resource could create thousands of manufacturing, construction and operations jobs and displace older, inefficient fossil-fueled generating plants, helping significantly to combat climate change, says the Department of the Interior (DOI).
“Renewable energy resources hold great economic promise,” Salazar said. “By one estimate, if our nation fully pursues its potential for wind energy on land and offshore, wind can generate as much as 20 percent of our electricity by 2030 and create a quarter-million jobs in the process.”
The Department and the Atlantic governors will use this agreement to facilitate federal-state cooperation for commercial wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf off of the Atlantic coast through collaborative efforts on issues of mutual interest. The consortium will develop an action plan that sets forth priorities, goals, specific recommendations and steps for achieving the objectives outlined in the agreement.
Salazar also announced the establishment of a new regional renewable energy office to coordinate and appropriately expedite the development of wind, solar and other renewable energy resources on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. The new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will be located in Virginia so as to be convenient to all states.
