Yesterday, SACE hosted the first ever Wind Energy Day at the Georgia State Capitol. This event was sponsored by Senator Lester Jackson (D-Savannah). The first day of spring started with the senator speaking about the benefits of wind energy from the Senate floor and letting other Senators and gallery attendees know about the exciting presentations we had planned for the day. Senator Jackson also used this opportunity to give recognition to SACE and the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) for our participation in Wind Energy Day. Several days before Wind Energy Day, Senator Jackson introduced a resolution lauding the benefits of wind energy – a first of its kind in Georgia.
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Anna Cayce Smit comments: 3 Comments
Things are moving in the realm of offshore wind energy in North Carolina. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced that it intends to prepare an environmental assessment for three large areas off of North Carolina’s coast in preparation for potential wind energy development and has asked for input on these areas. The environmental assessment (EA) will consider the environmental effects associated with the initial stages of site assessment and research leading up to wind farm development, for example geological and geophysical surveys and biological surveys.
tags: Clean Energy, Offshore Wind author: Chris Carnevale comments: 1 Comment
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it will be preparing an environmental assessment (EA) for a potential meteorological data collection facility offshore from Tybee Island, Georgia. The EA is the next step in advancing Southern Company’s potential plans for building meteorological tower and/or meteorological buoy to gather data to help determine the feasibility of [...]
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Anna Cayce Smit comments: 1 Comment
The Obama Administration announced today a major milestone in advancing offshore wind in North Carolina. Tommy Beaudreau, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), announced that BOEM will issue a Call for Information and Nominations for commercial offshore wind development in three wind energy areas off North Carolina. Those three areas, which were developed in close coordination between BOEM and the North Carolina Renewable Energy Task Force, represent approximately 1,441 square miles of area potentially available for offshore wind development. With this BOEM announcement, North Carolina effectively more than doubles the amount of area potentially available for offshore wind development in the United States.
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Simon Mahan comments: 2 Comments
On November 19, the City of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina officially became a “wind-powered economic zone” by proclamation of a City Council resolution. This resolution represents true leadership in the realm of clean energy and a genuine effort to better the community through economic development, community pride, and environmental protection. By becoming a wind [...]
tags: Clean Energy, Green Economy, Offshore Wind author: Chris Carnevale comments: 1 Comment
The South Carolina wind industry currently contributing an estimated $530 million in total output in 2012, $29 million of revenue for the state government, and $21 million for local governments.
tags: Clean Energy, Offshore Wind author: Chris Carnevale comments: 1 Comment
Yesterday, the National Wildlife Federation, SACE and over 45 partner organizations issued a new report, The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy: Time for Action to Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution, Protect Wildlife & Secure America’s Energy Future. This report looks at several aspects of offshore wind development, including the environmental and economic benefits, the [...]
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Anna Cayce Smit comments: No Comments
On August 31, SACE and the Sierra Club hosted the “Wind Works: For Jobs, for Georgians” rally on Tybee Island. The Tybee Pier and Pavilion, where the rally was held, proved to be a great spot for the event. We were able to reach out to about 300 people – substantially from the coastal community – [...]
tags: Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy, Wind energy author: Anna Cayce Smit comments: No Comments
Updated information now shows that offshore wind farms are at a lower risk from catastrophic hurricane damage than previously stated. A study published earlier this year by a suite of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University was spread widely through the mainstream media. Unfortunately, both the media, and the researchers, got the information wrong. We highlighted some of the problems of the study in a previous blog post, but it has now come to light that the researchers severely overstated the risk of hurricanes to wind farms.
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Simon Mahan comments: 5 Comments
Yesterday, Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) made a heroic speech on the floor of the Senate to save American wind energy jobs. As the seventh in a series of speeches focusing on wind energy jobs throughout the United States, Senator Udall spoke at length about wind jobs in South Carolina and the production tax credit.
tags: Offshore Wind, Wind energy author: Simon Mahan comments: 2 Comments