America's first offshore wind development plan was presented to the public on Monday by the Secretaries of Interior and Energy. The plan is backed by up to $50.5 billion over five years to fund projects that advance offshore wind energy development. Four mid-Atlantic areas off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia have been delineated and made eligible for expedited environmental reviews that will shorten the lead time for approval and installation of wind turbines. Interior expects to announce wind energy areas off the North Atlantic coast in March and a similar area off North Carolina this spring.
In a related energy development, Shell Oil announced it has abandoned plans to begin exploratory drilling for oil in the Camden Bay area of the Beaufort Sea this summer. A federal court ruling revoked clean air permits last month citing the need for more extensive analysis of nitrogen dioxide emissions from vessels involved in the operations. A company representative said Shell has spent $50 million obtaining clean air permits for drilling in Arctic waters.