Date: 03-Apr-09
Country: US
Author: Ayesha Rascoe

Final Offshore Wind Rules In Months: U.S. Interior Photo: Bob Strong
An offshore wind farm stands in the water near the Danish island of Samso May 19, 2008.
Photo: Bob Strong

ARLINGTON - U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Thursday he expects his department to finalize rules for offshore renewable energy in a few months.

"I expect that because we have done so much work on these rules that a good time horizon is within the next couple of months that we will have these rules finalized," Salzar told reporters at energy forum.

The department is considering whether to give final approval to offshore wind energy project Cape Wind off the coast of Massachusetts, which aims to provide power for 400,000 homes but has drawn powerful opponents including Sen. Ted Kennedy and other residents of coastline communities.

The project would consist of 130 wind turbines over 24 square miles in Nantucket Sound, within view of popular Cape Cod resorts.

The Interior Department oversees offshore wind and solar projects under an agreement reached last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Under Salazar, the department has worked to speed development of clean energy production on federal lands.

(Editing by David Gregorio)

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