Just months after a proposal to build the first wind farm to be located offshore on any of the Great Lakes was shelved, five neighboring states have struck a deal with the Obama administration to develop offshore wind farms more quickly.
Tom Precious reports on the deal, reached last week between New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and the Obama Administration to streamline the approval process for developers looking to build wind turbine projects on the waters of the Great Lakes.
The agreement is the latest in a series of steps the federal government is taking to facilitate wind farm construction, which has gotten off to a slow and contentious start in the waters off the Atlantic and Great Lake coastlines. Similar in scope to a recent wind promotion effort by the federal government and states along the Atlantic coast, "The memorandum of understanding states the federal government believes the Great Lakes could supply 700 gigawatts of energy -- representing a substantial portion of the nation's total offshore wind resource."
The potential for wind generation to replace non-renewable energy sources in states bordering the Lakes is substantial.
"A coalition of seven New York environmental and clean-energy producers -- including the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Environmental Advocates of New York and the Natural Resources Defense Council -- said the electricity that could be created by offshore wind farms on New York's Great Lakes and Atlantic coastlines could power all homes in the state," notes Precious.
FULL STORY: Potential Great Lakes wind farms eyed in deal

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont