WASHINGTON - A 380-mile underwater power line to serve wind farms planned off the East Coast cleared a regulatory hurdle Monday, though construction is years away.
The Atlantic Wind Connection would enable up to 7,000 megawatts of electricity to be produced at offshore wind farms from Virginia to New Jersey. Google Inc. and other investors have pledged up to $5 billion for a network of transmission lines for offshore wind farms.
The Interior Department said no competitor had proposed a similar project, allowing Atlantic Wind to move forward knowing it is likely to secure a federal right of way. Construction could begin as soon as 2014.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes called Atlantic Wind a first-of-its-kind project that shows industry interest in developing offshore wind power. No commercial wind power is produced offshore in the United States, though the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts could begin producing electricity as soon as 2014.