Sites concentrated
between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard
By Will Collette
The US Interior Department has released maps showing more than 430 square miles of tracts off the coasts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia where it will auction off leases to companies interested in building off-shore wind turbines.
According to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, "Wind energy along the Atlantic holds enormous potential, and today we are moving closer to tapping into this massive domestic energy resource to create jobs, increase our energy security and strengthen our nation's competitiveness in this new energy frontier."
Data shows the
potential for energy generation sufficient to power 1.4 million East Coast
homes. However, wind development may be facing a huge setback, as tax credits
for wind energy projects are set to expire and Congress is generally gridlocked
on tax and budget issues.
The Interior
Department plans to sell the leases in 2013. Two local wind projects –
Deepwater Wind off Block Island and Cape Wind off Martha’s Vineyard – are in
the final development stages and expect to begin work soon. Both companies plan
to use Quonset Point as part of their staging for the construction phase of the
projects, which are expected to create hundreds of new local jobs.
Both Deepwater Wind
and Cape Wind are sited in state waters and are not directly affected by the
federal plan to open up ocean areas to wind energy development.
