Virginia Signs MOU to Join Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium

The Virginia Offshore Wind (VOW) Coalition applauded Governor McDonnell’s announcement this week that Virginia had officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and nine other East Coast governors to form the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium.

The goal of the Consortium is to "facilitate federal-state cooperation and coordination for the efficient, expeditious, orderly, and responsible development of the significant wind resources of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) along the Atlantic coast through collaborative efforts on issues of mutual interest."

Speaking of the MOU, McDonnell stated, "Today is a major step forward in the effort to make Virginia a national and global leader in offshore wind power production. Our deepwater port, relatively shallow offshore waters, and offshore wind speeds give us the ability to move quickly to harness wind energy and bring it to market. Moving forward with offshore wind energy production gives us yet another opportunity to further position Virginia as "The Energy Capital of the East Coast."

By signing this Memorandum of Understanding with my fellow east coast governors and Secretary Salazar, we have indicated a mutual desire for federal-state cooperation on wind energy that will lead to greater production, and more jobs, not just in Virginia but all along the east coast."

Additionally, Secretary Salazar announced that a regional renewable energy office of the Department of the Interior would be established to handle the development of offshore wind farm. This office will be located in Virginia.

Josh Prueher, President of Earl Energy and an officer of the VOW Coalition stated, "The Virginia Offshore Wind Coalition applauds Governor McDonnell’s vision and leadership in making Virginia the nation’s leader in offshore wind turbines. This MOU represents a significant step forward for the entire East Coast offshore wind industry and the location of the Department of the Interior’s new regional renewable energy office in the Commonwealth affirms Virginia’s leadership position."

The Virginia Offshore Wind (VOW) Coalition is a stakeholder organization formed in 2009 by localities, manufacturers, utilities, developers and supply chain members to promote the development of the offshore wind industry in Virginia.

www.vowcoalition.org.