Tell the Feds: Virginians Want Offshore Wind ASAP!

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Thanks to a lot of our hard work and determination, Virginia’s offshore wind areas have been identified and cleared for take-off by the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The potential to power over 500,000 Virginia homes with clean, renewable energy and bring thousands of well-paying, local jobs is within grasp. Now we need a plan for actually getting steel into the ground within the next five years.

Click here to send a message to BOEM that Virginians want Virginia Offshore Wind ASAP!

If BOEM allows a single leaseholder, like Dominion Virginia Power, to monopolize Virginia’s entire wind lease area for a 45 year period they are likely to phase in development at a snail’s pace over 20-25 years. That means we will lose the manufacturing jobs to other states and we won’t get the clean renewable energy to power our homes. This is unacceptable and BOEM must be urged to reject such a plan.

Click here to send a message to BOEM that Virginians want Virginia Offshore Wind ASAP!

Below is a statement of Glen Besa, Director, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter in response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Announcement on Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind:

“We applaud BOEM’s initiative to fast-track the process to get us to this point today where Virginia’s offshore wind areas are now open for business. We have a tremendous product to offer with those wind turbines spinning off Virginia’s coast; it’s a product that supports the creation of over 10,000 Virginia jobs and powers over 500,000 Virginia homes. What we don’t have yet is a buyer of all that wonderful clean renewable energy. Dominion Virginia Power must recognize that its ratepayers are already paying more for dirty energy in the form of added health care costs and premature deaths. Offshore wind power will lower the true cost of power for Virginians and bring us greater price stability and energy independence. It’s time for Dominion to aggressively embrace the sustainable clean energy future that Virginia’s offshore wind development provides.”

Tell BOEM: Virginians Want Offshore Wind ASAP

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BOEM = Bureau of Ocean Energy Management