The Politics of Clean Energy

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar must have gotten an ear full at the first of several regional public meetings held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Monday to discuss the future of offshore energy development. His Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission settled their jurisdictional squabble concerning the licensing of  renewable power generation projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).  The Memorandum of Understanding clears regulatory hurdles for generating power from wind, waves and tides.  The FERC will be responsible for licensing, construction and operation of hydrokinetic facilities, while the Minerals Management Service will be responsible for leasing the OCS sites, and controlling the production, transmission and transportation of energy from solar and wind sources.  

Even New Jersey Republicans are supporting offshore alternative energy.  One Republican legislator told the hearing that he supports clean alternative energy after seeing the success of the Jersey Atlantic wind farm, a five turbine facility that powers about 2500 homes [photo courtesy NJ Board of Public Utilities].  Secretary Salazar toured the wind facility while in Atlantic City. Representative LoBiondo (R) said that as a life long resident of the state he would continue to oppose the leasing of the New Jersey coastline for oil and gas development. A Democratic legislator agreed that oil rigs off the coast are not wanted.  Nevertheless a representative from the petroleum industry urged all areas of a the OCS be opened to oil and gas development. The American Petroleum Institute said that the OCS produces one million barrels of oil a day and the industry spills less than the oil emerging from natural seeps.  Even with alternative energy development fossil fuels will continue to provide more than half our energy needs for decades according to the US Energy Information Administration.   Seventy-eight state lawmakers from Massachusetts submitted a letter at the hearing urging the Secretary to approve the Cape Wind offshore wind

farm in Nantucket Sound as soon as possible.  However Massachusetts' most influential politician, Senator Edward Kennedy, has expressed opposition to the siting of the wind turbines near his home on Martha's Vineyard.   In New York City, Verdant Power has been operating a prototype tidal power project in the East River between Roosevelt Island and Queens [photo courtesy Verdant Power].  It is the first major operational tidal power project in the United States.  The Department of Energy has awarded up to $7.3 million in research grants for hydrokinetic and wind energy projects or less than 5% of the money the US spends for one day of operations in  Iraq.  Secretary Salazar will hold another public hearing at Mission Bay, California tomorrow to receive public input on OCS power generation plans.