Green Options

According to a new report released by the Interior Department, shallow-water offshore wind farms could supply as much as 20% of the electricity in most coastal states. The report, released last week by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said that the greatest offshore wind energy potential in the U.S. lies off the Atlantic Coast.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is expected to vote next week on a $19 million plan to generate 350 megawatts of electricity with nearly 300 new wind turbines to be installed at various offshore locations.

One part of Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s Energy Master Plan for the state, the wind turbine plan could make New Jersey the first state in the U.S. to get energy from offshore wind (though that distinction could still go to Delaware, which OK’d a similar plan this summer), according to an article in NorthJersey.com. Once installed, the offshore turbines could provide enough energy for half the homes in North Jersey, the article stated.

The U.K.’s Times Online reports today that plans for at least four offshore wind farms might be in jeopardy because of objections from the Ministry of Defence.

The last-minute filing by the MoD states the proposed wind farms would lie directly in the way of

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