Kaptur Congratulates LEEDCo for New $3.7m Dept. of Energy Commitment

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) announced this morning that the Department of Energy (DOE) has made a new commitment of $3,700,000 to LEEDCo through DOE’s Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects initiative.

“LEEDCo has played a leading role in developing offshore wind energy in Northern Ohio, which has long been a hub for renewable energy development in our state,” said Rep. Kaptur. “Renewable energy supports tens of thousands of good jobs in Ohio and represents the future of our state’s, and our nation’s, energy economy. Please allow me to congratulate LEEDCo for its leadership and innovation that earned this prestigious commitment from the Department of Energy.”

In its notice, DOE highlighted the “important research and development progress” LEEDCo has made in its technology designs. This new award is expected to be finalized when LEEDCo finishes its current $3,000,000 one-year DOE engineering and design project, expected by March 31, 2016. This second award will focus on “overcoming remaining barriers to the project’s successful development” based on a third-party evaluation that is expected by the end of April 2016.

“DOE has been and continues to be a critical partner in pursuit of the first offshore wind project in the Great Lakes”, said Lorry Wagner, LEEDCo’s president. “This next round of investment by DOE will enable us to accomplish the objectives necessary to be positioned to construct the wind farm in the waters of Lake Erie in the summer of 2018. Rep. Kaptur’s strong support has been instrumental in securing the resources that have led to the tremendous progress we have made thus far,” Wagner added.

Congresswoman Kaptur has been a longtime supporter of LEEDCo, having previously taken the Power Pledge. As Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, she has fought for increased funding for wind energy, including the offshore wind energy program currently supporting LEEDCo. She has also hosted Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson for visits to Ohio to discuss the state’s role in advancing America’s energy capabilities through LEEDCo and other initiatives.

According to previous reporting, Ohio was home to 89,000 clean-energy jobs last year.

###