Offshore Wind Consortium Formed
BLM: Solar Rental Rates for Public Lands
DOE: $60M for Local Clean Energy Efforts
DOE: Loan Guarantees to Nevada, Oregon Geothermal
DOE-Backed Project Demonstrates Innovative Geothermal Technology
Study: High-Impact Risks to the U.S. Power Grid
East Coast States Form Offshore Wind Energy Consortium
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the governors of 10 East Coast states signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 8 that formally establishes the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium.
The consortium will promote development of wind resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) along the East Coast, primarily by coordinating state and federal efforts relating to permitting, environmental studies, technical and financial barriers, and the infrastructure needed to deploy and maintain offshore wind plants.
The MOU was signed by the governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. DOI's new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will oversee development of wind and other renewable energy resources on the OCS. In addition, DOI will establish a new renewable energy regional office, located in Virginia, to coordinate development of the region's renewable energy resources. See the DOI press release and the MOU (PDF 28 KB), which is posted on the Web site of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.
Several offshore wind energy projects have been proposed for East Coast states. On April 21, DOI approved Cape Wind, a 130-turbine wind project in Massachusetts' Nantucket Sound. NRG Bluewater Wind has proposed wind projects off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey; Deepwater Wind is involved with projects off the coasts of Rhode Island and New Jersey; and a public-private partnership in New York State is developing the 350 MW Long Island - New York City Offshore Wind Project, 13 nautical miles off the Rockaway Peninsula in the borough of Queens.
A recent study by Stony Brook University and the University of Delaware finds that linking a string of East Coast offshore wind plants with a transmission line would help smooth out power fluctuations caused by the weather. The University of Delaware is also teaming up with DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to develop a test site for commercial wind turbines off the Delaware coast. See the Web sites for Cape Wind, NRG Bluewater Wind, Deepwater Wind, and the Long Island - New York City Offshore Wind Project, as well as the press releases from Stony Brook University and NREL.
On June 4, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced the start of a multi-phase review process for five proposals vying to construct the Great Lakes Offshore Wind project, which would be located in NY State waters of Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. NYPA expects to pick a developer by early next year, followed by about five years of permitting and construction before the project achieves commercial operation.
And in May, General Electric and the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) announced a long-term partnership to develop an offshore wind farm near Cleveland, Ohio. GE will provide direct-drive wind turbines to LEEDCo's proposed 20 MW project, which is targeted for completion in late 2012. See the press releases from NYPA and LEEDCo (PDF 396 KB).
BLM Announces Solar Rental Rates for Public Lands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released on June 10 a rental schedule for solar right-of-way authorizations on public lands. The move provide the solar industry a level of certainty about the costs associated with projects on public lands, while ensuring a fair return to taxpayers for use of the lands.
