Wind Energy

The quixotic opposition to Cape Wind … By Tom Gray

It’s a perfect lampooning of the incomprehensible nine-year NIMBY campaign against the Cape Wind power project, which will provide years of pollution-free electricity to a region that for years has depended heavily on imported fossil fuels.

Why offshore wind energy?

– The U.S. offshore wind industry will build on the success and the lessons learned from the nearly twenty years of experience in Europe to provide clean, pollution-free, electricity along the coasts and in the Great Lakes.

– American manufacturers have recently announced plans to build factories in Europe to service the robust offshore wind turbines industry there. With policy support in the America we can encourage that new manufacturing sector to build here.

– There is a bright future for offshore wind energy in this country. Our recent polling shows that wind works for America – it means new manufacturing jobs and more pure, clean, affordable energy for our country.

We need comprehensive legislation now with a national Renewable Electricity Standard that will create a long-term market for the onshore and offshore wind industries and a set market for offshore wind that will bring extensive economic development and jobs to nearby areas.

By Tom Gray, www.awea.org/blog/