DOI to Establish Atlantic Renewable Energy Office

US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced yesterday from Copenhagen that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) will establish a new regional office in 2010 to support renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the Atlantic seaboard.

Salazar is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech Thursday on Interior’s efforts to build a clean
energy economy and to confront the impacts of climate change.

The Atlantic OCS Region will implement and manage the offshore renewable energy program,
including leasing, environmental programs, the formation of task
forces, State consultation, and post-lease permitting in Federal waters
off the East Coast.

“Given the enormous potential for renewable energy development, especially wind energy, in the Mid- and North Atlantic,” Secretary Salazar said, “MMS needs a dedicated Atlantic Region office as we plan for offshore renewable energy commercial leasing.”

In recent months the Department of the Interior created the first-ever framework for offshore renewable energy development and worked with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to clear out bureaucratic obstacles to offshore renewable energy projects. The Secretary recently awarded the first-ever exploratory leases for offshore wind production on the OCS offshore New Jersey and Delaware.

At the state level, the governors of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware have signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating a formal partnership to generate clean, renewable energy and a sustainable market. Immediate tasks under the agreement include identifying common transmission strategies for offshore wind energy deployment in the region, discuss ways to encourage sustainable market demand for this renewable resource and work collaboratively in pursuing federal energy policies which help advance offshore wind in the Mid-Atlantic area.

In Related News…

The Minerals Management Service on Monday conditionally approved plans by Shell Oil Co. to drill three exploratory wells next year in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast.

Read the Associated Press report at the link below.