OFFSHORE WIND IN THE OFFING

As reported here February 6, the East Coast has enormous wind energy potential.

Cape wind has faith in MMS
Kristyn Ecochard, March 6, 2007 (UPI)

- Cape Wind's president and Chief Executive Officer Jim Gordon is confident the five-year battle to construct the first U.S. offshore wind farm is coming to a close…
- The second draft [Environmental Impact Statement] submitted to [Minerals Management Services] in February will be responded to in MMS's draft that EIS expects will be released in April. Afterward, pending provisional MMS approval, a final EIS will be submitted by Cape Wind and, in turn, a final EIS from MMS. For five years, the project has undergone an evolving permitting and regulatory process involving 17 federal and state agencies.
- More than $15 million has been spent by the Cape Wind opposition and more is expected to be spent on an appeal if and when the project is approved…

- The [Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound] is concerned that the project would have negative effects on aesthetics, security and the environment…
- At a glance, the Cape Wind project would consist of 130 turbines, spaced a third to a half mile apart on Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts. It…can generate 75 percent of the electricity demand for region on average. The Cape and Islands has the fastest-growing population in New England and thus has the fastest growing energy demand…the location [is] ideal because of its shallow depth and low wave heights…
- A study released in September 2005 by the Department of Energy validated there's 900,000 megawatts of offshore wind potential off the coast of the United States with 330,000 from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Right now, the total installed generation capacity of the United States is 900,000 megawatts. A more recent study done by Massachusetts Institute of Technology also confirmed the potential of offshore wind power in the mid-Atlantic states…

- An offshore wind energy collaborative has been established…while critics have said offshore is still not as advanced as onshore wind technology…Europe's 17 offshore wind farms, including Nysted and Horns Rev in Denmark, go back to 1991 and have all been successful and…revealed no adverse environmental impacts…
- Energy security and independence, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and millions of new jobs are a few of the benefits…
- Delaware, Georgia and North Carolina are already considering plans for offshore wind projects…