NO CAROLINA WANTS WIND AT SEA

McCrory requests wind farm buffer off coast

John Murawski, March 9, 2015 (The Charlotte News and Observer via The State)

“A recommendation from Gov. Pat McCrory's administration to keep offshore wind farms at least 24 nautical miles away from the coast would strike a death knell for wind energy here, wind advocates say…The buffer requested by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is among 195 public comments…[to] the U.S. Department of Interior…If DENR's proposal were adopted, the wind farm development area would shrink by about half from the currently proposed 480 square miles. The oceanic area has been steadily shrinking with each stage of the review process as the military, shipping industry, fishing interests and tourism concerns chip away at the proposed zone…[The 24 nautical mile exclusion zone pushes development] to distances and depths that unnecessarily raise cost burdens…The DENR letter surprised wind advocates because Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has long supported offshore wind farms along side of offshore drilling…DENR still ‘fully supports offshore energy development’....[but] development will have to protect coast and ocean, and address military and navigational concerns…” click here for more

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