It's about time too. The tide is turning, and I'm sure the recent oil spill/disaster has a lot to do with it. It also makes no sense to claim you want clean, renewable energies, by drilling for domestic oil. So the President gave campaign style speeches in support of clean renewable energies, on the same day Ken Salazar approved a 900 million dollar plan to produce an offshore wind farm for Cape Cod.
And so it begins . . .
This is really important, because of course, the US is lagging behind when it comes to any renewable energy source, let alone wind farms. So this marks the first project to be implemented on US shores.
From the NY Times (All blockquotes are from the NY Times, unless specified)
More than 800 giant wind turbines spin off the coasts of Denmark, Britain and seven other European countries, generating enough electricity from strong ocean breezes to power hundreds of thousands of homes. China’s first offshore wind farm, a 102-megawatt venture near Shanghai, goes online this month, with more in the pipeline.
But despite a decade of efforts, not a single offshore turbine has been built in the United States.
Here are some of the reasons this has taken so long:
Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose Hyannisport family compound is on Nantucket Sound, fought Cape Wind and termed it a special-interest giveaway that would mar a pristine landscape, the newspaper says.
Several Native American tribes also opposed the project.
The Aquinnah tribe and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe argued that the 440-foot-tall wind turbines would interfere with important sunrise ceremonies and disturb ancient burial grounds in once-dry land beneath the Sound.
This quote taken from USA Today
Yet, this is actual, real progress for enviromentalists and the people who care deeply about climate change:
But proponents of the project, which include major environmental organizations like the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, point to a February study by Charles River Associates, a consulting firm hired by Cape Wind’s developers, suggesting that the project could save New England ratepayers $4.6 billion in energy costs over 25 years. They also say that the project has undergone two separate environmental impact analyses, neither of which found significant downsides.
This is exactly why we need to leave fossil fuels in the past where they belong. $4.6 billion in 25 years, by then oil will have run out and we would most likely be in another crisis.
The case has been made that it is beginning to be too late to transition over to renewable energies. I say it is never too late, if we can manage to update and upgrade our nation's energy infastructure, the way we produce and reserve energy, then the many problems of the future will be lessened as each day passes. Something, in this case, is better than nothing at all.
If the handful of American projects on the drawing board are built as planned, they would produce some 2,500 megawatts, according to the American Wind Energy Association, or about as much as two midsize nuclear power plants.
The Cape Wind project would place 130 turbines, each 440 feet tall, over 24 square miles of Nantucket Sound at a likely cost of more than $1 billion.
So far the biggest hurdle to offshore wind farms are the cost, and the fact that we still don't have any on land matters too. Because if it cost so much to place them out in the ocean, we should take care of placing wind farms on the land first.
Regulatory uncertainty has made offshore wind development a haphazard affair. It was only last year that the Interior Department approved final regulations for granting leases, easements and rights-of-way for renewable energy development in federal waters. Within three miles of the Atlantic coast, or on the Great Lakes, states have jurisdiction — and some have not even begun the rule-making process.
An even bigger impediment has been the high cost of building and maintaining turbines in a harsh marine environment, where equipment must be fortified to withstand crashing waves, hurricane winds, corrosive salt and, in the case of the Great Lakes, winter ice.
The current price tag for a fully installed offshore wind system is estimated at $4,600 a kilowatt, nearly double the $2,400-a-kilowatt price for a land-based system, according to the U.S. Offshore Wind Collaborative, a coalition of public and private organizations and institutions promoting the industry.
Still yet, proposals are springing up everywhere in our country, maybe our manufacturers realize they could be the leader in producing wind turbines. Some also note the enviromental impact, and the fact that producing an actual, workable wind farm, that does lower cost and efficiently provides electricity, means a future of less energy insecurity and strengthens our National Security.
From The White House Blog
Tuesday, the President visited a Siemens Wind Blade Turbine Manufacturing Plant in Fort Madison, Iowa. He spoke of how just a few years ago, the plant was silent and empty, a possibility yet unfulfilled. Yet now, thanks to a $3.5 million 48c tax credit funded by the Recovery Act, it employs more than 600 people, two-thirds of whom were previously without work. In addition, it supports 350 more jobs throughout Lee County, employing everyone from electricians to grocers.
Americans want renewable energies, here is a poll conducted a month ago showing support for Wind Energies:
--An overwhelming, bipartisan majority -- 89% -- of American voters (including 84% of Republicans, 88% of Independents and 93% of Democrats) -- believe increasing the amount of energy the nation gets from wind is a good idea.
--A majority of Americans -- 56% -- disapprove of the job Congress is doing on renewable energy and 67% believe Congress is not doing enoughto increase renewable energy sources such as wind.
--A majority of Americans -- 82% -- believe the nation’s economy would be stronger (52%) or the same (30%) if we used more renewable energy sources like wind.
--A majority of Americans -- 77% -- support a national Renewable Electricity Standard. This support extends across party lines and includes 65% of Republicans, 69% of Independents, 92% of Democrats.
The poll was conducted March 27-28 by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Anna Bennett of Bennett, Petts & Normington. The poll sampled a national survey of 600 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points. Poll details are available here.
Poll found at AWEA.
Here is a statement issued by The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO Denise Bode, found at the same link as the poll above:
"AWEA applauds Secretary Salazar for approving the Cape Wind project. Such forward-thinking decisions are necessary for the U.S. to realize the many environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind. The U.S. offshore wind industry will build on the success and the lessons learned from the nearly twenty years of experience in Europe to provide clean, pollution-free, electricity along the coasts and in the Great Lakes. In fact, American manufacturers have announced plans to build factories in Europe to service the robust offshore wind industry there. With policy support in the America we can incent that new manufacturing sector to build here."
That is all that matters. Reducing the grip on foreign oil, and then releasing the grip on oil and other fossil fuels entirely.
Jobs matter too, if we can start up a massive infastructure overhaul of this country, millions upon millions of people can start working, presumably making big bucks too. More factories produced right here in America, instead of outsourcing workers and importing parts from China to build our turbines.
I feel that overall today, minus the oil spill, today was a good day for Clean Energy.
Peace, and thank you for reading!
Update: There are a number of groups who are opposed to this:
Cape Cod Times
Several groups say they will file legal action
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe have argued that the 440-foot tall wind turbines will interfere with important sunrise ceremonies and disturb ancient burial grounds in once-dry land beneath the Sound. In his ruling, Salazar disagreed: "The viewshed effects are not direct or destructive to onshore traditional cultural properties. In no case does the turbine array dominate the viewshed."
In a release after Salazar's ruling, the Aquinnah tribe said: "We are disheartened and disappointed with Secretary Salazar's decision to proceed with the Cape Wind project. The Tribe has no choice but to explore all of its options for relief from this decision, including injunctive relief."
Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, said in a prepared release: "We are extremely disappointed with today's decision. ... While we strongly support renewable energy, and appreciate that Secretary Salazar will be reopening the government to government consultation, no amount of mitigation will change the fact that this is a site of great historical and cultural significance for our Tribe, and is inappropriate for this project."
Audra Parker of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the chief opponent to Cape Wind, said the "flawed" project would be derailed in court. "It's far from over," she said. "Nantucket Sound needs to be off limits to Cape Wind and any other industrial development."