Regional Center to Provide Information for Fact-based Decision-Making and Increase Literacy for Offshore and Land-Based Wind

Montpelier, VT March 12, 2014

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that Clean Energy Group (CEG), in collaboration with Sustainable Energy Advantage, LLC, has been selected to develop and operate the Northeast Wind Resource Center, one of six regional wind energy resource centers to be established across the US. These resource centers will be tasked with providing accurate and unbiased education and outreach to stakeholders and decision makers about wind energy deployment in their respective regions.

The Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are creating the regional wind energy resource centers in response to the rapid growth of the wind energy sector in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue for wind projects of all sizes. Each resource center will work to ensure that wind energy develops in a way that best matches the unique opportunities of its geographic area.

The Northeast Wind Resource Center will address the need for interstate cooperation and will emphasize sharing of experiences and best practices. It will enable fact-based siting decisions driven by an inclusive process. It will serve the information needs of New England and New York in the case of land-based wind, and that same region plus the state of New Jersey for offshore wind. CEG will spearhead efforts around offshore wind, and SEA will focus on land-based wind.

"CEG is very pleased to be working with the Department of Energy and the northeast states on developing the Northeast Wind Resource Center," said Lewis Milford, President of Clean Energy Group. "For our focus on offshore wind, we expect to work closely with state policymakers to ensure that the Center provides the information and analysis that they need to advance offshore wind in the Northeast in the best way possible."

"Sustainable Energy Advantage looks forward to working with DOE, NREL, and stakeholders from across the region to making the Northeast Wind Resource Center a forum that will support effective decisions about land-based wind power, which is a growing contributor to our energy mix," said Deborah Donovan, Senior Consultant of SEA. "By providing credible, salient information, the Center will assist decision-makers and communities in New England, New York, and other northeast states who are engaged in siting decisions."

The Center will incorporate the work of many other organizations in the region. The Maine Ocean & Wind Industry Initiative will serve as a key liaison to the wind industry, and other organizations and public agencies will serve on a steering committee that will be set up in the coming months to guide the Center's key activities.

DOE's announcement regarding the centers can be found at http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/filter_detail.asp?itemid=4144.