Posted on 11/24/2014 11:42:10 AM PST by thackney
The federal government today announced that it will hold its largest-ever competitive lease sale for offshore wind development in January.
The feds will allow a dozen developers to bid on access to more than 742,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts (map) starting Jan. 29, the Interior Department said Monday.
The sale would triple the amount of federal offshore acreage available for commercial-scale offshore wind development, the department said.
That area — if fully developed — could support as much as five gigawatts of commercial wind generation, enough to power more than 1.4 million homes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“This offshore wind energy area not only has the capacity to generate enough electricity to power half the homes in Massachusetts, but it will create local jobs and a renewable and home-grown source of power,” Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement.
Ten companies have expressed interest in the lease area, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The federal government has awarded seven commercial wind energy leases off the Atlantic coast to date.
Offshore wind projects were first developed in 1991. Since then, they’ve primarily operated in Europe. The federal government has been trying to promote them here in the U.S., since more than half the country’s population lives in coastal areas, and offshore winds tend to blow more forcefully and uniformly than wind over land.
Globally, about 4.45 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity has been installed across more than 50 projects, according to the BOEM.
there goes the Gull Population,..and the Terns...and who know such other sort of birds
More info:
Commercial Wind Leasing Offshore Massachusetts
http://www.boem.gov/Commercial-Wind-Leasing-Offshore-Massachusetts/
Lots of windbags hail from Massachusetts.
More important will it ruin the scenic views from the “Kennedy Compound”?
Offset by an increase in the crab fishing?
doesn King Obie vacation at hyannis??
Made it useful.
They are bird killers. Where are all the environmental liberals nutcases.
These things kill far more birds than their imaginary climate change ever would.
Breaking wind news!
these things probably wouldn’t make a dime without government subsidies.
How does interfering with wind patterns affect climate change? I guess it doesn’t matter.
yeah, I always heard teddy fought this type of thing off the Mass. coast, he must be rolling over in his grave.
Teddy Kennedy is probably rolling over in his grave.
This is just great, my elec bill here is slated to rise 39% this year supposedly due to poor access to natural gas and the original Cape Wind numbers were another 40% or so. this will now cause it to double or triple in time.
I’m already paying close to 20 cents per kilowatt hour.
ARGH!!
I’m not sure the eye is going to see much from 12 miles or more away.
Looks like Ogruber has some more paying back to do...
But I don't think it will decrease the population of Loons.
Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Clears Hurdle
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/us/17wind.html?_r=0
January 16, 2009
yep, lots of loons out there
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