Monday 5 March 2012

US Government pledges $180m to offshore wind

The US Government is giving $180 million (£114m) to four offshore wind projects across the States.

Over the next six years the money will be dished out to speed up the deployment of "breakthrough" wind power technologies.

Announcing the news, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said: "These investments are critical to ensuring that America remains competitive in this growing global industry that can drive new manufacturing, construction, installation and operation jobs across the country."

Strong winds in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico make offshore wind an enormous potential resource for the United States.

The US Department of Energy estimates it has more than 4,000 gigawatts of offshore wind resources.