US adds up to $141m to support offshore wind power

U.S. Energy Department (DOE) said on Wednesday it will allocate up to 47 million U.S. dollars to each of the three pioneering offshore wind demonstrations over the next four years to help speed up the deployment of more efficient offshore wind power technologies. The three projects selected from seven offshore wind demonstration projects are located off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia, said the DOE. "Offshore wind offers a large, untapped energy resource for the United States that can create thousands of manufacturing, construction and supply chain jobs across the country and drive billions of dollars in local economic investment," said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. "The Energy Department is working with public and private partners to harness this untapped resource in a sustainable and economic manner," said Moniz. "The offshore wind projects announced today further this commitment." Faced with climate change and carbon emission reduction, the U. S. government has paid attention to the development of renewable energies in recent years. In December 2012, the DOE announced the seven offshore wind demonstration projects, with each receiving an initial 4-million-dollar supporting fund. According to the Wind Vision Initiative launched by the U.S. government last year, the United States will dramatically raise the percentage of wind power on the total power generation of the country, from 4.1 percent in 2013 to 10 percent by 2020, 20 percent by 2030 and 35 percent by 2050.