Offshore breezes are strong and steady—ideal for consistent wind power generation. Actually, building the wind farms in several feet of water is the tricky part, but the Obama administration is moving forward with plans to do just that. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) announced that the new plan is “smart-from-the-start,” protecting the environment while quickly finishing the building process.

The new wind farms will be built off the shores of New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia; the advantage these states all have in common is that the regulatory approval process is supposed to be quicker. The states in question will also receive the benefit of (potentially) thousands of new jobs from this mid-Atlantic project and lots of clean electricity to boot.

Smart From the Start

Just tramping into the water and erecting massive wind turbines is difficult enough without adding extra variables to the mix, but the mid-Atlantic project will be doing exactly that. The turbines will be placed where they won’t disrupt the local ocean ecosystems and wildlife, in accordance with the National Ocean Policy in place since 2010.