Jenniffer González’s renewable energy proposal is introduced in the Senate

Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Jenniffer González Colón has the support of Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) to study the feasibility of establishing wind turbines in the waters of the exclusive federal jurisdiction of the United States, bordering Puerto Rico and the rest of the territories.

Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced S.499, the Offshore Wind for Territories Act, which Congresswoman Gonzalez had introduced in the House on February 6th along with Reps. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (I-Northern Marianas), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Darren Soto (D-Florida) and Stacey Plaskett (D-USVI) as cosponsors.

"We must pursue every avenue to address high energy prices in the U.S. territories and reduce our heavy reliance on foreign petroleum imports. The Offshore Wind for Territories Act, which I recently introduced in the House, offers a sensible path to achieve this. Specifically, it corrects federal law to authorize the Department of the Interior to study the viability for offshore wind energy development in the Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to each of the five territories. I want to thank Senators Cassidy and Schatz for leading on this issue and introducing companion legislation in the Senate. I look forward to working with them to enact this important measure into law," said Congresswoman González.

"This bill gives American citizens better access to electricity, boosts revenue for U.S. territories, and helps protect vulnerable coral reefs," said Dr. Cassidy, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on energy. "Louisiana benefits from offshore energy revenue sharing, which helps restore and maintain our coastlines. This bill gives U.S. territories the same opportunity and promotes renewable energy."

"For decades, Hawaii relied on fossil fuel imports for our energy needs. In less than a decade, we have made significant progress towards our 100 percent clean energy target, all while lowering electricity rates and creating jobs. It is time to bring the clean energy future to the U.S. territories," said Senator Schatz.


H.R. 1014 and S.499 seek to include territories under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. In addition, it provides that, once it is determined whether wind resources are viable, the Department of the Interior would begin a process to auction lease rights, where 37.5% of the qualifying revenues will be allocated to the territory for environmental mitigation uses and 12.5% will be reserved for the protection of coral reefs.

This bill is supported by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) whose president, Randall Luthi, applauded the presentation of the bill, saying that it "enables U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam to develop their rich wind resources and power new jobs and economic growth for their residents. There is a longstanding need to strengthen the energy security of the U.S. territories and the bipartisan support from House Natural Resources leadership shows that this bill can be the path forward to a stronger energy future for our territories."