Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–March 30, 2012. Today, President Obama and the governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania announced a deal that will ensure efficient and responsible approval of offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes.
These offshore wind turbines could produce as much as 700 gigawatts of energy — one-fifth of all potential wind energy nationwide and enough electricity to power 210 million homes.
In response, Dave Hamilton, Director of Clean Energy for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, issued the following statement:
“The Sierra Club applauds the President for taking this important step to move America toward an energy future with cleaner air, cleaner water, and healthier families. As the Sierra Club works to transition the country beyond coal and other types of dirty energy, efforts like this demonstrate that clean energy offers a reliable, effective, and affordable alternative.
“President Obama has been a champion for protecting and restoring our Great Lakes. In addition to cleaning up pollution, restoring habitat and controlling invasive species, moving to clean energy is an important component of protecting this unique natural resource.
“By combining the efforts and resources of federal agencies, state governments and local communities, we can identify a path forward that brings new clean energy online in the Great Lakes region while protecting and continuing to restore one of the planet’s most important freshwater resources.
“Sharing information, accelerating approval processes and building local consensus for appropriately-sited wind projects will create new, well-paying jobs and will help transition the country off of fuels that pollute our air, pump toxic chemicals into our drinking water, and trigger life-threatening conditions like asthma attacks.”
Source: sierraclub.org
