Oceana is a proud event partner of the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Offshore WindPower Conference, which will be held next week, October 9 – 11, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I will be attending the conference, along with our very own Matt Huelsenbeck and Leah Scull, to raise the profile of Oceana’s work in promoting offshore wind development and to learn about the latest developments in the industry.
This conference comes at an incredibly exciting time for offshore wind. While the U.S. has yet to put any “steel in the water,” many projects along the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes are moving steadily through the regulatory process. In fact, as many as four offshore wind projects, including Cape Wind, could begin construction next year. Additionally, exciting new technologies to facilitate floating wind deployment are quickly emerging, bringing floating wind projects to Maine and the West coast sooner than we once thought! As the Department of the Interior works to make offshore wind a reality, Oceana will continue to provide comprehensive comments to the department to help ensure that marine life is protected throughout the process.
Here’s just a few reasons why Oceana is so invested in making offshore wind a reality:
Like I said, it’s an exciting time in the world of offshore wind and we’re thrilled to partner with AWEA for this year’s Offshore WindPower Conference!
Nancy Sopko is an Ocean Advocate at Oceana.
Oceana is an event partner for the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Offshore Wind Conference in Baltimore, MD next week, October 11-13.
I’ll be at the conference representing Oceana, and I’ll be speaking on a panel about stakeholder engagement, which will focus on how best to engage and educate key stakeholders in the offshore wind development process.
Why is Oceana such a strong advocate for offshore wind, anyway? Here are a few big reasons:
At last year’s conference, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed the first U.S. lease for offshore wind development, and since then, he and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu unveiled a National Offshore Wind Strategy. The plan includes the deployment of 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2020 and 54 gigawatts by 2030, and Salazar and Chu announced $50.5 million in funding opportunities for projects that support offshore wind energy deployment.
In other words, it’s an exciting time in the world of offshore wind – and we’re thrilled to be a part of the action.
You can help, too! Tell your senators to replace dirty oil drills with clean windmills.
Nancy Sopko is an Ocean Advocate at Oceana.
