McDonnell joins wind consortium to speed Virginia offshore wind energy
Last week, Governor Bob McDonnell joined the governors of nine other states and the U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to form the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium. The Consortium will promote the development of wind energy off the Atlantic Coast, including a large farm proposed for 12 to 15 miles off Virginia’s coastline.
In announcing the formation of the Consortium, the Interior Secretary also announced the location of a new federal renewable energy office in Virginia. Similar to the Consortium, the renewable energy office will help Atlantic state governments and the federal government to coordinate and expedite renewable energy projects off the Atlantic Coast.
Governor McDonnell wants the new group to help streamline the federal procurement process for awarding offshore wind leases and devise solutions to mitigate the significant costs associated with offshore wind energy.
The Governor already signed legislation earlier this year to expedite the process in Virginia by creating a Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority. The legislation would allow Virginia to avoid lengthy delays caused by federal laws requiring up to 2 years of review before awarding leases for which they received more than one application. The Authority would circumvent this protracted process by collecting applications and deciding which applicants to send to the federal government for approval.
