North Coast should invest in wind farms

In one of the most important initiatives yet from the Biden administration, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced earlier this month an initiative to develop wind farms along our nation’s coasts.

In a well-researched Marin Voice from 2009 (viewable at bayareane.ws/3BWz4rX), I showed how such a project could easily satisfy the energy needs of Marin. In the dozen years since, there has been a tremendous advance in turbine technology, so the configuration would be much different, but the resource is still there.

Sadly, the Cape Wind project cited in the article was ultimately abandoned in 2017 after years of local opposition. Its replacement, Vineyard Wind, is now moving ahead under President Joe Biden’s initiative. Marin and our neighbors must make a radical departure from the past, and not follow the Cape Wind example. We should do whatever we can to support and promote a wind farm along our coast, rather than gearing up to fight it. It would appear MCE (formerly Marin Clean Energy) would be the ideal agency to lead such an effort.

The naysayers will find an easy out by simply stating that the Point Reyes National Seashore and the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary make our coast automatically off limits. I would argue that wind power should be placed where the best sites are for long-term success. The North Coast is one of the best. A responsibly developed project could satisfy many goals — the local clean energy we seek (without new power lines) and power for the desalination plant that we will ultimately require. Can’t we have both greenhouse gas reduction and marine protection?

With the prospect of new funding for zero carbon energy sources ($150 billion in pending legislation), now is the time for the North Bay to quickly get on board and be first in line for such funding. Forget the old way and look boldly to the future.

— Peter Van Meter, Sausalito