Will highlight Obama Administration investments in clean energy technologies
Date: Sept. 8, 2016
Contacts: Interior_press@ios.doi.gov
WASHINGTON – As part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan to create jobs, cut carbon pollution and develop clean domestic energy, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell tomorrow will begin a three-state renewable energy tour to make several announcements about efforts to support renewable energy on public lands and waters.
On September 9, Secretary Jewell will travel to Boston, Massachusetts, to join U.S. Secretary of Energy Moniz to release a joint forward-looking strategy for advancing the development of offshore wind energy over the next decade at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Wind Technology Testing Center. Jewell and Moniz will also mark a major milestone for renewable energy – completion of America’s first offshore commercial wind farm.
On September 14, Secretary Jewell will travel to Palm Springs, California, to make a major announcement surrounding Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, an innovative, landscape-level renewable energy and conservation planning effort covering 10 million acres of public lands management by the Bureau of Land Management in the California desert.
On September 15, Secretary Jewell will travel to Clark County, Nevada, to make an announcement regarding tribal energy and economic development with leaders of the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians.
The President’s Climate Action Plan calls on Interior to permit 20,000 megawatts of renewable power by 2020. Since 2009, Interior has approved 59 utility-scale renewable energy projects on public lands, including 35 solar, 11 wind and 13 geothermal projects and associated transmission infrastructure that could support nearly 15,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, or enough to power approximately 5.1 million homes.
In addition, Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offshore energy development program has awarded 11 commercial wind energy leases in federal waters off the Atlantic coast. These sales encompass more than one million acres in federal waters that, if fully developed, have the potential to power over four million homes.
Event #1 – Offshore Wind National Strategy – Boston, MA
Who:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy
Dan Utech, Deputy Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Climate Change
Local leaders and clean energy representatives
What:
Tour and press conference
When:
Friday, September 9, 2016
10:45 am EDT – Media check-in
11:00 am EDT – Tour followed by press conference
Where:
Wind Technology Testing Center
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
100 Terminal Street
Building 80
Boston, MA 02129
Media:
In order to gain access to the WTTC facility, media should submit names to RSVP@hq.doe.gov by COB Thursday, September 8 for timely processing at the facility. Access to the WTTC is accessible by vehicle only. Due to safety concerns, pedestrians are not permitted to walk or bike within the auto port. Visitors traveling on foot/bicycle will be turned away at the security entrance. The facility recommends carpooling and/or using shuttle buses for any larger groups. Cabs/Ubers are permitted onto the lot, however attendees should plan their return trip in advance. Cabs/Ubers have a very difficult time finding the facility if they are not already familiar with it and know that they can go through the security entrance to pick someone up.
Additional logistical details regarding Secretary Jewell’s visit to Palm Springs, California, and Clark County, Nevada, will be released in the coming days.