If President Obama is right and the U.S. is facing a new “Sputnik Moment”, we shouldn’t have to look too hard to find examples of foreign countries rocketing past us with the new competitive technologies of the 21st century. Not hard at all. In fact, when it comes to the technology sector at the top of the President’s list
Cape Wind: the reality
Today at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and Jim Gordon, CEO of Cape Wind signed the first permit for an offshore wind farm in US waters, marking the end of a nine-year regulatory hurdle. “Responsibly developing this clean, renewable, domestic resource will stimulate investment in cutting-edge technology, create good, solid jobs for American workers, and promote our nation’s competitiveness, security, and prosperity,” Salazar said in a statement. He also reaffirmed his commitment to streamlining the permitting process for future offshore wind projects. This is something CCAN has been working very hard on. It shouldn’t take longer to permit an offshore wind farm that generates clean, renewable energy than an offshore drilling rig that can cause enough damage to shut down our entire coast, harming important industries to our coastal towns.
The Cape Wind announcement comes just days after Secretary Salazar approved the first large-scale solar-power projects on U.S. public lands in California and a announcement from President Obama about his plans to put solar panels back on the White House roof after a 30 year absence. Hopefully we will see a continued commitment to the environment from this administration.
As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, this victory is personal for me since I spent almost 4 years working to make Cape Wind a reality. With today’s announcement, I can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s finally becoming real.
A BIG Victory!
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!