Department of Defense Appropriations Amendment Needlessly Stalls Offshore Wind Development
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Contact: Justin Williams, (202) 465-8464, jwilliams@nullnoia.org
Department of Defense Appropriations Amendment Needlessly Stalls Offshore Wind Development
Washington, D.C. – National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Randall Luthi issued the following statement regarding an amendment to the House of Representatives Department of Defense Appropriations bill:
"Today, the House Appropriations Committee adopted language to the FY20 Defense Department Appropriations Act that threatens to derail a growing domestic offshore wind industry. Some in Congress continue to seek to sow conflict between offshore energy development and military operations. Simply stated, we do not need more delays to once again study offshore wind, a renewable energy source which bolsters U.S. energy independence and enhances our national security.
“For decades, offshore wind developers and the U.S. military have worked in tandem with our NATO allies in the North Sea alongside offshore wind turbines. That same collaboration can happen in the United States if Congress will stop giving in to conspiracy theories suggesting that wind energy cannot coexist with other industries and military operations in the OCS.
“America’s energy companies are on the cusp of major construction projects in the OCS. If this language is made law, those projects will be threatened and the jobs and energy security that construction brings will be needlessly delayed."
Background: The House Appropriations Committee adopted language calling for a one-year Department of Defense study of the impact of offshore wind turbines, which allegedly "when arranged in large arrays may cause interference to radars and that vibrations generated by the operation of turbines may cause sonic interference to underwater sonar."
ABOUT NOIA
NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf. NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises about 250 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.
