U.S. Interior Dept. Chief on Wind projects

[Towntalk]

Interior chief wants wind projects

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is applying the brakes on a Bush administration plan to open the Atlantic and Pacific coasts — including Georgia's — to oil and natural gas drilling, while promising a "new way forward" for offshore wind projects.

"I intend to do what the prior administration failed to do ... incorporate the great potential for wind, wave and ocean tides," Salazar said.

Turning wind energy into electricity could prove more fruitful. A 2007 estimate by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed offshore wind could supply 20 to 50 percent of Georgia's electrical needs, although at a higher cost than coal-produced electricity.

Mary Hunt, director of special projects for the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, which produced a feasibility study on Georgia's offshore wind potential with Southern Co., said federal regulations have given preference to oil and gas over alternative energy.

"This is really great for the offshore alternative energy industry," Hunt said. "The economic opportunities in this are huge."