Wow. Today is a great day for the climate movement and our nation as a whole. After months of hearing rumors about the possible dreadful components of the Senate climate bill and President Obama’s announcement to open our coasts for offshore drilling, with Virginia at the top of that list, we finally have a victory to celebrate. This afternoon, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar announced his agency’s approval of the Cape Wind project. This project, nine years in the making, will meet 75% of the area’s electricity needs with clean, renewable energy. Finally, the US is moving toward a clean energy future.

This announcement is incredibly personal for me because I spent almost 4 years trying to make this project a reality. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it through to the end but the victory is just as sweet from a distance. Now I am using my experience and knowledge to push offshore wind for Virginia, which hopefully won’t take another decade to come to fruition. Just yesterday I was appointed to DEQs offshore wind Regulator Advisory Panel to flesh out the permitting and siting guidelines for projects off our coasts. This is going to be a daunting task but I look forward to the adventure.

And on a side note, the DMME opened up the appliance rebate program for Virginia residents today so if you are thinking of buying a new energy star appliance check their website first! Hurry up though because these funds will run out quickly!