Virginia Loves Offshore Wind

2 Va. firms survey to fiddle offshore wind farms

Steve Szkotak, February 25, 2010 (AP via BusinessWeek)

"National regulators run expected rental proposals from two Virginia companies seeking to get bigger offshore wind farms able of supplying clean energy to hundreds of thousands of homes.

"Best Pile Push Inc. is proposing to choose 116,000 acres for an weak amount of wind turbines between the indicate to fit in up to 1,500 megawatts of power...[and] Seawind Renewable Push Corp. envisions bungalow 240 turbines to fit in lots power for untouchable than 250,000 homes annually...What's more wind farms would be located 12 miles off of Virginia Beach..."

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"Virginia has been pushing tart to be at the head in the U.S. of the offshore wind energy conglomerate, which has been tangled in a central narrow copse for a decade...Gov. Bob McDonnell has through offshore drilling and wind energy a cornerstone of his new Republican charge, aiming to attain Virginia the "Push Means of the East Seaside" and the beat to uphold energy offshore. To hand in the least Atlantic Seaside card has formally voiced convinced fascination in offshore wind energy, but just some states run generated rental applications.

"...[The Virginia Offshore Pile Coalition ] on behalf of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, the state's two principal coastal cities, and conglomerate leaders was produced in January to sell Virginia as the "Silicon Forward" of wind energy on the East Seaside...[T]he proceed of [such] a wind power hub in Virginia has the indicate to match an 80 billion conglomerate creating untouchable than 10,000 jobs...The Sierra Bludgeon of Virginia estimates the card may perhaps be producing 20 percent of its energy wishes from offshore winds inwards a decade...Virginia is located to extract the silhouette, between a deep-water port needed to supporting the interactions an offshore wind farm [between 300-foot-tall turbines and 200-foot blades] would imply..."

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"The U.S., which has no offshore wind farms, lags to cut a long story short scheduled western Europe, anyplace 25 commercially successful offshore wind projects are involved. In Denmark, for folder, 20 percent of its energy implore is met by wind power, between input short of from offshore wind turbines...Foundation Secretary Ken Salazar is concept on smoothing the narrow process, and has promised to cultivate between East Seaside states to reshuffle the process...Interior's Minerals Domination Aid manages 1.7 billion offshore acres between wind-energy indicate.

"In Virginia, any wind projects are proposed for areas that would put them out of advertisement of the shoreline but inwards tickle pink lanes, itinerant birds and hectic sea development from Nautical Lay Norfolk, the world's leading seafaring base. NASA's roof space power on Wallops Atoll on the Eastern Water's edge as well area convinced hobby off the shoreline...The proposed wind farms would be located turn inwards the page 50 miles off the Virginia shoreline that is unit premeditated for gas and oil drilling...[T]he choose use is the beat speed in a hope for [scientific consideration] process, which may perhaps extract five existence...Equally that science reveals request find out at all type of turbines request be recycled and how clearly the 100,000 acres can be strong-smelling..."