Massive Conservation Coalition Calls for Bold Action to Advance Offshore Wind Power
Environment North Carolina
Massive Conservation Coalition Calls for Bold Action to Advance Offshore Wind Power
Raleigh, NC—With critical federal tax incentives set to expire on December 31, coastal businesses and state officials joined Environment North Carolina, the National Wildlife Federation, Southern Environmental Law Center, and over 230 other organizations and elected officials Wednesday in a letter supporting swift, bold action by the Obama administration to facilitate the development of offshore wind power. The organizations lauded offshore wind power as a promising, clean energy alternative for North Carolina. Climate change is hitting close to home in North Carolina, as rising sea levels and storms surges threaten the state’s treasured coastline.
“North Carolina has the most offshore wind potential of any Atlantic state, it just makes sense that we should take advantage of it,” said Environment North Carolina’s Field Director Dave Rogers. We can power our lives in a way the protects the environment and never runs out.”
Supporters pointed to the clear benefits of offshore wind as reason for state and federal officials to support incentives critical for launching a new offshore wind industry in North Carolina.
“Today, North Carolina gets most of its electricity from just three sources – coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Properly-sited and responsibly-developed offshore wind energy in North Carolina can cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution, and create thousands of jobs. Congress must extend the investment tax credit to allow the region to tap into this clean, zero-cost fuel”, said David Carr, General Counsel of Southern Environmental Law Center.
In June, President Obama announced an historic Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution. In addition to placing the first ever national limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the plan called for doubling the amount of renewable energy generated on federally controlled land and waters. Advocates pointed out that offshore wind power offers a critical opportunity to meet this goal and achieve our nation’s environmental and energy objectives.
America can create hundreds of thousands of jobs while powering our homes and businesses with local, clean energy, but only if our elected officials and regulators take the right steps now, according to a report released last year by the National Wildlife Federation, Environment America, and 45 partner organizations along the Atlantic Coast. The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy: Time for Action to Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution, Protect Wildlife & Secure America’s Energy Future details the economic and environmental benefits of offshore wind energy, the progress made to-date, potential obstacles to that progress, and a prosperous path forward.
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