Citizen Partnerships for Offshore Wind
Encyclopedia
Citizen Partnerships for Offshore Wind is a collaboration of communities and organizations that believe the United States
must move towards indigenous clean energy sources like offshore wind and that public education
and citizen engagement are essential to making that transition.
This partnership aims to connect coastal communities facing offshore wind development to address common challenges and opportunities posed by offshore wind. By working collaboratively, citizens can share experiences, information, and resources, and help build a unified movement towards the acceptance of offshore wind.
Right now, the United States is more than 20 years behind Europe
in adopting this established technology. The United States’ deeply rooted affiliations with the fossil fuel
industry have allowed us to remain dependent on unhealthy and dangerous fuels. The East Coast
and Great Lakes
have an immense opportunity to produce clean energy and boost local economies by accepting offshore wind as a viable, preferable energy resource. It is in the public’s best interest to support offshore wind because of its great potential to improve our health, economy and energy security
.
While we as a collaborative support offshore wind as one of the many sources of renewable energy
that can meet our needs, we require projects to be appropriately sited and to demonstrate proven benefits to the local community and environment. The initial gathering of 20 advocates representing communities in 15 coastal states produced a basis for collaboration that emphasized keeping the needs of communities at the forefront of the discussion of offshore wind.
Sponsored by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) as a project that grew out of the CLEAN network, CPOW is directed by members of the collaborative. Civil Society Institute understands the immense contribution offshore wind power
can make towards advancing a clean energy economy for the United States and reducing our dependence on unhealthy and dangerous fossil fuels, and therefore initiated the formation of this partnership.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
must move towards indigenous clean energy sources like offshore wind and that public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and citizen engagement are essential to making that transition.
This partnership aims to connect coastal communities facing offshore wind development to address common challenges and opportunities posed by offshore wind. By working collaboratively, citizens can share experiences, information, and resources, and help build a unified movement towards the acceptance of offshore wind.
Right now, the United States is more than 20 years behind Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in adopting this established technology. The United States’ deeply rooted affiliations with the fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
industry have allowed us to remain dependent on unhealthy and dangerous fuels. The East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
have an immense opportunity to produce clean energy and boost local economies by accepting offshore wind as a viable, preferable energy resource. It is in the public’s best interest to support offshore wind because of its great potential to improve our health, economy and energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
.
While we as a collaborative support offshore wind as one of the many sources of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
that can meet our needs, we require projects to be appropriately sited and to demonstrate proven benefits to the local community and environment. The initial gathering of 20 advocates representing communities in 15 coastal states produced a basis for collaboration that emphasized keeping the needs of communities at the forefront of the discussion of offshore wind.
Sponsored by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) as a project that grew out of the CLEAN network, CPOW is directed by members of the collaborative. Civil Society Institute understands the immense contribution offshore wind power
Offshore wind power
Offshore wind power refers to the construction of wind farms in bodies of water to generate electricity from wind. Better wind speeds are available offshore compared to on land, so offshore wind power’s contribution in terms of electricity supplied is higher....
can make towards advancing a clean energy economy for the United States and reducing our dependence on unhealthy and dangerous fossil fuels, and therefore initiated the formation of this partnership.
External links
- http://www.offshorewindpartners.org/www.OffshoreWindPartners.org/Welcome.html
- http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/