Inefficient, Unreliable, and Expensive, but Energy Nonetheless

WASHINGTON, DC—Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle today released the following statement in response to Secretary of the Interior Salazar’s approval of the Cape Wind project.

“It is promising to see that Secretary Salazar has, for this first time in his tenure as Interior Secretary, demonstrated his knowledge of the fact that Americans need increased access to energy. And while we applaud the Secretary’s decision to finally move forward a project to produce energy offshore, there is no way around reality; Secretary Salazar has chosen to allow production of one of the most expensive and unreliable sources of energy—and one of the few sources of energy that doesn’t translate into more jobs for Americans.

“Contrary to his actions to date, today’s decision proves that Secretary Salazar is, in fact, capable of making a decision that increases our energy supplies. Now it is time for the Secretary to show the same commitment to energy security toward the affordable, reliable, job-creating sources America has in abundant supply.”

According to the Energy Information Administration, to build and produce, offshore wind is 2.4 times more expensive per megawatt hour than natural gas, 1.9 times more expensive than coal and 1.6 times more expensive than nuclear.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 28, 2010
CONTACT:
Patrick Creighton: 202.621.2947
Laura Henderson: 202.621.2951

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