First U.S. Offshore Wind Leases Issued
Filed Under: Environmental News on July 3, 2009
Five offshore exploration leases for wind energy production have been issued by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for areas off the New Jersey and Delaware shores. Up to this point, a lot of “who gets to be in charge” infighting was stymieing the issue of leases so that energy companies could explore offshore wind farms.
Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary, said that his office, along with the Obama administration, “papered over” the opposing regulatory agencies fighting for control of the ability to lease inside U.S. waters. The leases, which are promised to be only the first in a series of offshore wind leases, are for areas between six and eighteen miles from the shores of NJ and DE.
Experiments are already underway in Europe, notably in Norway, as I’ve covered earlier. Salazar admits that this is one of the areas that the U.S. is “playing catch up” to European countries in regards to alternative energy.
These new leases were granted to Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy, Bluewater Wind Delaware, Deepwater Wind, and Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey. Although estimates of how much offshore wind could be harnessed into power, these initial leases are only $17,000 per year (each), so recoup is not exactly untenable.
Salazar promises that these funds will be used only to maintain the leases and to fund future renewable energy projects, including helping coastal states meet their renewable energy requirements. Bluewater has already signed an agreement with Delaware’s Delmarva Power to buy offshore wind-made power. The DoE estimates that the potential for offshore energy in Delaware alone could power up to 1.5 million homes.
This is a good start on a resource that, in some areas, is an excellent way to use the free market to gain renewable energy to power homes and businesses.
