FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/12/2012
Contact: Eitan Bencuya, 202-495-3047, eitan.bencuya@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Applauds New Energy Department Investments in Offshore Wind
Projects
Investments
Overshadowed by Continued Delay of Wind Industry Production Tax Credit
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy
announced investments in seven offshore wind projects in the Northwest,
Midwest, Gulf and East Coast. Initially, each project will receive up to $4 million,
and three projects could receive as much as $47 million each over four years.
Wind energy in the US has seen incredible growth under the Obama
administration. Wind power has doubled over the past four years employing more
than 75,000 Americans, and the industry hit a historic milestone this summer
when it reached 50 GW of installed wind capacity in the United States. Offshore
wind could provide more than 4,000 GW of clean, domestic electricity and a U.S.
offshore wind industry could support up to 200,000 jobs across the country by
2030.
However, this momentum would stall in its tracks if Congress
does not renew the wind industry Production Tax Credit (PTC) and offshore
Investment Tax Credit (ITC) before the end of the year. The Senate Finance
Committee has already put forward a strong extension plan, but the bill is
stalled in the House. These credits would allow the wind industry to continue
its strong growth, providing jobs and clean energy to Americans across the country.
Further, the offshore industry needs stable long term federal incentives that
would move offshore wind from merely having great potential to producing
thousands of clean megawatts for American families.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of growing local support for
offshore wind across the country. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
released a Call for Information today for three lease locations off the North
Carolina coast; Maryland residents and State Delegates are holding an offshore wind
town hall this evening in Temple Hills, Maryland; New Jerseyans are holding
their own offshore wind meeting tonight with former Governor Florio in
Princeton, New Jersey; and today environmentalists and offshore wind developers
reached an agreement for protections of the North Atlantic Right Whale, paving
the way for offshore wind development in the mid-Atlantic.
In response, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club released the following statement:
“The Sierra Club applauds the Department of Energy for these
pivotal investments in key offshore wind projects. Offshore wind is one of our
greatest untapped resources for clean energy as a country, and these
investments will allow innovative companies to continue their groundbreaking
work in developing wind projects off America’s shores.
“With the fate of the wind industry Production Tax Credit
still in limbo, however, the continued success of the wind industry is in
jeopardy. Congress must extend the PTC, with an ITC option for offshore developers,
to ensure that these and dozens of other companies across the country continue
their historic growth. A strong and successful wind industry will not only
provide good-paying American jobs, but also ensures a long-lasting source of
clean energy that doesn’t pollute our air and water.”
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