Recently, we held a roundtable discussion in Rosslyn, Virginia with former Virginia Governor (now Senator-elect) Tim Kaine, as well as 10 clean economy business leaders from the mid-Atlantic region. One of those leaders was Markian Melnyk of Atlantic Wind Connection. Here's a brief description, from its website, of what Atlantic Wind Connection's all about:
America needs an offshore wind energy industry off the Mid-Atlantic states. This emerging industry will create thousands of jobs and improve consumer access to clean energy sources.
The Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) backbone transmission project is an essential foundation to this new industry. Designed to accelerate offshore wind development, the project is led by well-established independent transmission company Trans-Elect and sponsored by Google, Bregal Energy, Marubeni Corporation and Elia as sponsors.
In the forum, Melnyk talked about developing wind energy at scale and "deliver[ing] it to the parts of the grid that need that power the most," supplemented by "conventional power" and thus taking away "one of the principal objections of intermittent renewable energy."
As for where to place these offshore wind turbines, Melnyk argues that Virginia "is probably, of the mid-Atlantic states, the best positioned to really have a strong role in this new industry, " with "terrific port resources and skilled labor," and a tremendous opportunity for the state's participation if mid-Atlantic offshore wind power "takes off as a regional industry." It's an exciting vision, and one that Melnyk's Atlantic Wind Connection plans to be a major part of.