An attention-getting proposal to build a 300-mile offshore transmission line to bring wind-farm power from the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S. mainland is moving ahead to an environmental review.
After a review, the Department of the Interior issued a finding of no competitive interest, which lets the unique proposal backed by Google and Marubeni Corp. get an environmental review.
Had there been a competing plan, the government would have had to hold an auction.
Atlantic Grid Holdings is the entity that has advanced the $5 billion proposal known as the Atlantic Wind Connection. It would be off the coast of five mid-Atlantic states and would take as much as 7,000 megawatts of wind-turbine capacity from yet-to-be-built offshore wind farms.
"The first-of-its-kind Atlantic Wind Connection is an encouraging sign of significant industry interest in developing the infrastructure to support offshore wind development," Deputy Secretary of Interior David J. Hayes said to reporters, according to Bloomberg News.