A Federal Clean Energy Agenda The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of tapping 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Google is on board with a recent major investment in the Atlantic Wind Connection, a transmission line that will support 350 miles of offshore wind projects. Port cities would breathe new life as thousands of workers commuted to jobs out at sea building and maintaining wind turbines. Manufacturing jobs would also multiply as turbines with blades longer than football fields would need to be produced domestically because of their sheer size. Above: The Lillgrund Wind Farm sits six miles off the coast of southern Sweden and can produce 110 megawatts of energy—enough to power 60,000 homes.

June 2012

Free and Abundant Energy: Now all we have to do is get it

With families still rebuilding after Hurricane Irene, East Coasters are all too familiar with the destructive power of wind. But what if it were put to good use—generating clean energy?

“Offshore wind is a massive energy source just sitting there that we haven’t even begun to tap,” says Catherine Bowes, Northeast global warming program manager at the National Wildlife Federation.

The potential is enormous. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that there are 213 gigawatts of wind energy in accessible areas of shallow waters off the Eastern seaboard alone—enough to replace 200 average coal-fired power plants. Offshore wind is one of the few sources of renewable energy abundant and steady enough to become a primary energy source on the East Coast. “Wind energy presents an incredible opportunity for cleaning up our air, achieving energy independence, and creating thousands of jobs,” Bowes continues. But it’s not going to be easy.

Developing our offshore wind energy resources at this scale involves coordinating several state and federal bodies, lining up investors, and getting energy purchasers—not to mention the work of siting and building the wind farms in rough waters. As a new source of competition in the lucrative energy sector, offshore wind must also outmaneuver competitors; powerful oil industry representatives are trying to stop offshore wind projects in their tracks. Clean energy advocates need to keep the pressure on to make sure that political and logistical hurdles are cleared.

The Campaign for Atlantic Offshore Wind, a project of the Conservation Law Foundation, Environment America, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Southern Environmental Law Center, received a $200,000 grant to build political and public support for wind power. It is publishing an updated report on its generation potential, as well as the economic and environmental benefits of bringing this new clean energy source ashore. “In addition to mobilizing diverse, influential voices to support offshore wind development, the Campaign for Atlantic Offshore Wind is making sure the permitting process is expedited without compromising the integrity of the environmental review process,” says Bowes.

Last year, a $100,000 grant to the Clean Energy Group helped it begin to line up funding for offshore wind power. The Group got its first purchasing contract from the Department of Defense, which will use the energy at military bases. With a recent $100,000 grant, the Group will continue to make the economic case for wind power and find financing for the project. “We are launching a ground-breaking ‘collaborative purchasing’ pilot project,” says Mark Sinclair, vice president of the Group. “This project would enable state and federal governments, utilities, and municipalities to use their collective buying power to reduce costs and make offshore wind cost competitive.”