The Virginian-Pilot
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With new offshore drilling on hold as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is backing another federal effort to promote energy production.
McDonnell and governors in nine other states have joined an effort organized by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to promote, coordinate and expedite the development of offshore wind facilities along the Outer Continental Shelf in the Atlantic Ocean.
Other members of the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium are Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.
Virginia will be home to a regional renewable energy office, though officials said a site hasn't been identified.
"Appropriate development of... wind power will enhance regional and national security and create American jobs," Salazar said Tuesday in a statement about the partnership.
As much as one-fifth of the nation's electricity could come from wind in the next 20 years if it is effectively harnessed, he said.
Salazar presented the consortium idea to McDonnell and other officials during a February meeting in the nation's capital.
All Atlantic Coast states were invited to join the group, whose members are to produce an initial report with goals and recommendations within the next month.
McDonnell, a strong supporter of offshore drilling, said in a statement that he has "long advocated an 'all of the above' approach to our energy needs." He called the consortium "a major step forward" for Virginia.
The announcement comes more than a month after Salazar approved a permit for offshore wind facilities near Cape Cod, Mass., a potentially groundbreaking project that the secretary has said could be the first of many similar ventures.
News of the consortium was welcomed by environmental advocate Eileen Levandoski, Hampton Roads coordinator for the Sierra Club, who hopes it will allow for quicker approvals of offshore wind projects that are "commercially viable right now."
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Don't fall for it Virginia.
Don't fall for it Virginia. Wind is not the way to go. They are noisey, expensive, and pad the pockets of a few at the expense of the rate buying public. Massachusettes will be setting an example of this for all of us shortly.
Noise? Are You Kidding?
Whatever the newest jets are that Oceana has had doing touch and go's with is deafening. I don't see how ANYONE who lives in the Tidewater area could complain about wind noise when the constant decibel level is so high my apartment building shakes every time one of them goes overhead. It's so high, you can't have a conversation in your backyard if you live in Strawbridge - you have to constantly stop and wait until they're not flying over you for anyone to hear what you're saying. They're so loud they even annoy businesses because they have to wait until they are far enough away to hold a conversation with their patrons. Your argument holds absolutely no weight in this freakish "I Love Jet Noise" town.
solar likes wind
solar likes wind so much, solar feels strongly the city of virginia beach must embrace incorporating modular clean tech energy design into the bridge replacing the lesner bridge at the lynnhaven inlet.
Just dont build them near
Just dont build them near the Kennedys.
It is my opinion
that the biggest payoff from wind turbines is to those that are selling this idea, certainly not the users of power. And they don't have to live here and look at them either or wonder who is gonna pay to tear them down 10-15 years from now when they are broken down, obsolete, unutilized hulks and eyesores polluting our view of a pristine ocean.
Just because it is a green idea doesn’t make it a good idea. Put the money into something that makes more sense.
Really, a "pristine ocean?"
I have often thought that the ocean looked wonderfully pristine when dotted with container ships in every quadrant. Or, if you're at Chick's beach or closer in, with them looming a thousand yards offshore. Big plume of diesel exhaust. Now all that's missing is some FA-18s coming overhead, but just wait for that...
The point is not to denigrate commerce or national defense. Rather the point is that we use the ocean and the shore for many things besides staring at the waves, and it is not immediately obvious that windmills would somehow detract from an allegedly "pristine" experience, any more than the current uses do.
Besides which, as another commenter said, they would apparently be out of view from the beach. Because of that whole earth-being-round thing, which I know some green energy opponents are still working on.
sigh . . . they won't be
sigh . . . they won't be visible from shore . . .
Wind is certainly not the only answer to wean ourselves off of fossil fuel but it is one of the answers. Also the more wind power we have on the grid the more reliable it becomes. The coming smart grid will help to obviate the problems related to variable power supplies as well.
It's not one of the answers
It's not one of the answers either. It's a good supplement but we have to address the primary source issue. That means 24x7 constant output rain or shine. The only technology we have that will do the job without fossil fuels is fission reactors.
That is a red herring. Wind
That is a red herring. Wind power can provide as much as 20 percent of the power needs in Hampton Roads. And that does not even consider the benefits of clean energy jobs it will bring. And that long-term sea level rise is a direct, serious threat to the Hampton Roads region.
How about the rest?
No, it's not a red herring as that would be an attempt to change the subject.
You're actually agreeing with me. 20% means that 80% has to come from primary sources. You also have to backup that 20% with other supplemental sources that cannot be shutdown due to common storm systems. I'm not saying it's not a good supplemental source, but it's not a solution to the bigger issue, and no one wants to talk about how we do that.