And so, after many months – if not years – of discussion and debate, it looks as if the US’s quest for offshore wind power will finally become a reality. Naturally, the plans still have a minority of detractors, but the broadest swathe of opinion is shot-through with optimism, hope and positivity…
“America needs offshore wind power, and with this project, Massachusetts will lead the nation… On balance, Cape Wind is good for our environment and good for our energy needs. We are on our way. If we get clean energy right, the whole world will be our customer.”
Gov. Deval Patrick
“The best winds in the country anywhere outside of the United States Congress are off the shores of Virginia… What we’ve got to do is find a way to harness it in a commercially practicable way.”
Gov. Bob McDonnel takes a dig at Congress
“They’re clearly very interested in it, committed to it, they’re willing to put a lot of money on the table with respect to it, and they clearly have pretty carefully thought out a way in which it could integrate with individual offshore wind projects.”
Michael Bromwich, head of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, discussing Google’s link to major offshore plans
“This is a great moment, a major milestone, in getting the offshore segment of the U.S. wind industry off the ground and in the water. Cape Wind has been a leader in the offshore wind power movement for years…Over 1,600 people from around the world witnessed the signing, some of them from countries that have taken the lead away from the United States in developing wind energy.
“The Cape Wind lease represents progress toward taking that lead back for America, and keeping not only construction jobs, but also wind manufacturing jobs, right here at home instead of having to watch them go to China and Europe. And it’s a major defeat for oil and coal interests who are funding front groups to try to stir up opposition to breakthrough projects like Cape Wind.”
Denise Bode, AWEA CEO, commenting on the nation’s first lease for commercial offshore wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf
