Secretary of energy Steven Chu and interior secretary Ken Salazar announced on Feb. 7 up to a $50.5 million federal investment in offshore wind farms over the next five years.

About 78 percent of the nation’s electricity demand is in the 28 coastal states, said Chu, who appeared in Norfolk, Va. with Salazar. The two secretaries said they would establish four “wind energy areas” in the outer continental shelf, gathering information about the “environmental and geophysical attributes” of each one. The areas, off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, are designated in “leasing blocks” that were originally drawn up for oil drilling. The Department of Interior published a map of the four locales.

Chu said the goal of the investment is to lower the price of offshore wind to levels where it could compete without subsidies.

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