Clean, renewable wind energy could provide 20% of Virginia's power and create over 1,000 jobs!

According to an article by Ricardo Lopez of the Virginian Pilot today, a study by the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium has determined that a wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach is a viable option. Some key findings out of the study:

• Cost of a wind farm is comparable to current/traditional fuels.
• Current/traditional fuel prices will not remain the same.
• Initial cost of wind farm is high, but will pay off over the long run.
• Will not be paying fuel costs over the course of time, just maintenance and operational costs.
• Project could provide up to 20% of Virginia's energy needs.
• Project could create around 1,100 jobs.

There was initial talk about building wind farms along the Blue Ridge Mountains a few years ago, but it was met with opposition due mainly to concerns over migrations patterns of birds. The location of the wind farm off the coast of Virginia would not impact bird migrations patterns. While the aesthetic look is not great, it is a whole lot better alternative than seeing oil and gas drilling platforms off the coast and nearly zero chance of environmental disaster from fuel spills. This is just a report, but things are moving in the right direction.

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