14 DAY TRIAL // Wind farms will soon be up and running in the waters off New England's coast. The first of them are to be installed close to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, seeing how these areas have been documented to have a wind energy potential that exceeds that of other regions.
The construction of these wind farms is the result of the country's Interior Department deciding to lease some 164,740 acres to companies wishing to invest in wind energy.
Specialists estimate that this region off New England's coast has winds strong enough to allow for the generation of about 3,400 megawatts of electricity.
According to Inhabitat, this amount of energy would be more than enough to meet the energy demands of more than one million households in New England.
The same source informs us that similar eco-friendly projects are planned for areas in the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. Despite their being given the green light, construction activities have not yet begun in these other regions.
Commenting on the decision to lease said 164,750 acres off New England's coast, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell stated as follows:
“Today we are moving closer to tapping into the enormous potential offered by offshore wind to create jobs, increase our sustainability, and strengthen our nation's competitiveness in this new energy frontier.”
“As we experience record domestic oil and gas development, we are also working to ensure that America leads the world in developing the energy of the future,” she later added.
Business Green informs us that, as far as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the United States is concerned, the companies eligible for leasing these waters for wind energy investments are Deepwater Wind New England, EDF Renewable Development, Energy Management, Fishermen's Energy, Iberdrola Renewables, Neptune Wind, Sea Breeze Energy, US Mainstream Renewable Power, and US Wind.
These companies are to forward their proposals starting with the end of July.