Offshore Wind Energy in the NE

Steve Lindenberg of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has prepared a presentation titled Offshore Renewable Energy Future in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region. Although the presentation focuses on offshore wind energy projects in the NE/Mid-Atlantic, it also covers the potential for both offshore wind projects and marine hydrokinetic (waves and tides) projects along entire U.S. coastline. Potential coastal zone impacts are also discussed.

Planning for coastal wind farms in MA

Click here for a larger version of the map.

You can't be interested in coastal wind energy in the US without knowing about the long, drawn out controversy surrounding the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound off of Massachusetts.

To address issues surrounding competing uses and marine conservation, Massachusetts is leading the national in develop a plan to direct using of its coastal waters. The Massachusetts Ocean Plan is designed to balance commercial and recreational activities with conservation needs, including zones for the development of wind energy.

Read here to learn more about plan for wind energy in MA.

.: EfficienCity :.

Greenpeace UK has put together a nice website to help envision an climate-friendly city.

EfficienCity is a virtual city but all towns and cities in the UK could be enjoying the same lower greenhouse gas emissions, cheaper bills and better energy security.

Visit the EfficienCity and check out the "South Zone". It has cool animations/explanations of wind, wave and tidal power as well as information resources.

Salazar Announces 5 Exploratory Leases for Offshore Wind Energy Development off Coasts of NJ & DE

Contact: Frank Quimby (DOI), (202) 208-6416
Nicholas Pardi (MMS), (202) 208-7746

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - Calling it a major step forward in President Obama's new energy frontier, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, joined by New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, today issued five exploratory leases for renewable wind energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore New Jersey and Delaware.

"We are entering a new day for energy production in the United States - a time of clean energy from renewable domestic sources on our Outer Continental Shelf," Secretary Salazar said. "Other nations have been using offshore wind energy for more than a decade. We made the development of offshore wind energy a top priority for Interior. The technology is proven, effective and available and can create new jobs for Americans while reducing our expensive and dangerous dependence on foreign oil."

"This is tremendous news for New Jersey and I thank Secretary Salazar and the Obama Administration for issuing these leases which are so critical to getting the development of our offshore wind turbine projects underway," said Governor Jon S. Corzine. "New Jersey's Outer Continental Shelf is a resource that holds a great promise for our energy independence and should be considered a haven for the clean, renewable and environmentally friendly energy that wind power provides. This is a major step for the State in meeting its goal of 1000 megawatts by 2013 and 3000 megawatts by 2020."

"The development of clean energy will be a major part of our economic recovery and will help lay the foundation for long-term economic security for our families, our state and our nation," said U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). "We should be proud that New Jersey has led the way in the effort to harness the tremendous potential that offshore wind in the Atlantic has to generate clean electricity. This lease is a step toward lowering energy costs for families, creating innovative 21st Century industry jobs and reducing our reliance on dirty energy."

Secretary Salazar issued the exploratory leases, the first of their kind ever issued by the Federal Government, to Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy, LLC; Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, LLC; Deepwater Wind, LLC; and Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC. The leases were developed under an Interim Policy and authorize data gathering activities, allowing for the construction of meteorological towers on the Outer Continental Shelf from six to 18 miles offshore to collect site-specific data on wind speed, intensity, and direction.

The leases exemplify the renewable energy initiatives Secretary Salazar has made a top priority and worked to accelerate. Under his efforts, the final regulatory framework for Outer Continental Shelf renewable energy development was completed in the first 100 days of President Obama's administration. The comprehensive framework, which regularizes the process and brings certainty to this nascent industry in terms of how applications for OCS wind, solar and hydrokinetic resources would be addressed, had been long delayed in the previous administration. Interior negotiated a breakthrough agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on April 9 that clarified the jurisdictional responsibilities for leasing and licensing renewable energy projects.

The President and the Secretary announced the final comprehensive framework on Earth Day, April 22, and it becomes effective on June 29. It provides the "rules of the road" for states and companies with renewable energy initiatives to pursue development of those projects on federal submerged lands as well as methods for sharing 27.5 percent of the revenues generated from these projects with adjacent coastal States. The Secretary then launched a series of 12 Minerals Management Service workshops nationwide to discuss and explain the new program for renewable energy on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The data collected under these leases will be shared with Interior's Minerals Management Service and used to inform and support future commercial renewable energy projects, such as wind turbine farms, to help coastal States meet mandated renewable energy portfolio standards.

New Jersey is actively pursing the development of offshore wind energy through various state initiatives (e.g., grant solicitations, reimbursement programs, and renewable energy portfolio standards). In October 2008, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities established a meteorological tower reimbursement program, which provides $4 million per company to help expedite the development of offshore wind.

In Delaware, Delmarva Power signed a power purchase agreement with Bluewater Wind for up to 200MW in June 2008, and the pact was ratified by the state in July 2008. Delaware's average offshore winds have the potential to produce 5,286 MW*, which would power between 1.2 to 1.5 million average homes.

The following companies are receiving the exploratory leases for meteorological towers:

New Jersey
15 - 18 miles
Wind
Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy, LLC

New Jersey
6 - 9 miles
Wind
Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, LLC

New Jersey
15 - 18 miles
Wind
Deepwater Wind, LLC

New Jersey
12 - 15 miles
Wind
Deepwater Wind, LLC

Delaware
14 miles
Wind
Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC

For additional information on the limited leases and renewable energy, please visit:

http://www.mms.gov/offshore/renewableenergy/regulatoryinformation.htm

North American Wind Energy Projects

View Offshore Wind in a larger map

Click here for more information on proposed wind energy projects

Energy & the Ocean: Part 1

This year we are going to publish a series in Making Waves that explores using the ocean as a source of renewable and clean energy. This is Part 1 - an intro on the issues to be addressed. We welcome and encourage your comments!




Last summer, when gas prices neared $5 per gallon and “Drill, Baby Drill” became a campaign slogan, Americans were reawakened to our dangerous and dependent energy policies. Not since the 1970s had energy issues been so prominent in the public consciousness. Once again it became glaringly obvious that we are not only overly dependent on climate warming fossil fuels, but also that we get much of that petroleum from foreign countries – not all of whom are friendly.

A quick check of the facts in combination with the staggering drop in oil prices last fall, demonstrated the futility of offshore drilling as a means of solving our energy crisis. Offshore drilling would only account for 3% of the world’s oil supply.

This summer’s gas price bubble reminded us that now is the time to invest in alternative energy sources that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases while providing domestic sources of energy, spurring innovation and creating jobs.

As Surfrider Foundation’s policy on climate change acknowledges, increased warming of the Earth’s atmosphere will be felt severely at our coasts. Impacts range from increased coastal erosion and flooding, increased severity of storms, loss of wetlands, acidification of the oceans and threats to coral reefs. The key element to turning around global climate change is to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels for energy.

When looking into our energy sources, it is important to understand that we have two primary energy uses that come from different sources. One major energy use is transportation (cars, shipping, trains, airplanes, etc.). Transportation is powered almost exclusively on petroleum. The other major energy use is electricity to power our houses, office buildings, etc. Electricity has traditionally derived from a mix of sources including coal, hydroelectric, nuclear and natural gas.

The move to electric powered transportation will alter this balance and increase our electricity needs while decreasing our petroleum needs (unless we start using more petroleum to generate electricity).

There are a number of new alternative energy sources that are being developed that are designed to tap into natural energy along the coasts and in the oceans to create electricity. These include wind, tidal, wave and current energy. All of these sources hold the promise of creating domestically available renewable and clean energy that could also support economic development along the coasts. However, there are many questions and concerns about ocean energy, including potential impacts to ocean recreation, nearshore ecology, coastal processes, public safety, aesthetics, and fishing access.

The conflict between supporting clean, renewable energy sources and working to protect the coast from potential impacts presents us with a challenge. It would be easy to succumb to a “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) mentality and just say no to these projects. But by saying no to these projects we are inherently saying yes to some other source of energy that may have negative global ramifications (e.g. coal). The question remains, how can we support clean energy sources along the coasts while minimizing their impacts to our oceans, waves and beaches.

We believe the answer is to constructively participate in project planning and to promote a set of “best practices” to ensure that these impacts are minimized to the fullest extent possible

In this series, we will explore efforts to open new areas to offshore drilling and innovative technologies such as wave energy, wind power, tidal and current energy. We will describe how they work, what the state of the technology is, and how they may impact the coast.

We hope you will join in this conversation. Comment below.