States Are Choosing Offshore Wind

Trump Wants Offshore Drilling, but States Are Choosing Wind Energy; States bordering the outer continental shelf are looking for carbon-free electricity as the Trump administration rolls back rules requiring it

Brittany Patterson, February 5, 2018 (ClimateWire via Scientific American)

“…[Atlantic coast states bordering the outer continental shelf are looking for carbon-free electricity, even as the Trump administration rolls back rules requiring it...[New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) just] announced that his state will aim for 3,500 megawatts of installed offshore wind by 2030…Massachusetts has a goal to build 1,600 MW of offshore wind power by 2027, and New York has committed to 2,400 MW by 2030…At the same time, wind technology is quickly advancing, thanks to its popularity in Europe. Ten countries across Europe had deployed 12,600 MW of offshore wind power by the end of 2016…[The U.S.] Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued 13 wind energy leases off the Atlantic coast…It's unclear how the growth in offshore wind might be affected by Trump's plan to open nearly all U.S. waters to oil and gas drilling…The administration's proposal to open the Atlantic coastline to oil drilling was criticized by many of the governors along the Eastern Seaboard…” click here for more

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