Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an offshore wind energy bill last week, but it has received mixed reviews from proponents of the Gulf of Mexico’s nascent wind industry, reports NOLA.com.
Edwards, who strongly backs offshore wind development in the Gulf, signed House Bill 165, which creates a framework that would allow offshore wind leasing for the first time in Louisiana waters.
Some members of the offshore wind industry objected to a provision that lets the state take a cut of wind farm revenues while also charging for leases.
Rep. Jerome “Zee” Zeringue, a Republican from Houma and the bill’s sponsor, patterned the provision after ones that require the oil and gas industry to pay for lease areas and share revenues with the government.
But paying royalties is almost unheard of for the offshore wind industry, according to the Southeastern Wind Coalition. Read the entire story.
