Groups get in line behind U.S. wind energy

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WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- Advocates for wind energy sent a letter to the White House calling for accelerated development of the clean energy resource off the Atlantic coast.

More than 200 advocates signed a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama expressing support for wind development off the eastern coast of the United States.

Catherine Bowes, a new energy manager for the National Wildlife Federation, said offshore wind energy could be a win-win situation.

"Conservationists of all political stripes are united behind offshore wind as a winner for America's wildlife, public health and economy," she said in a statement.

Washington cleared the way for the Mid-Atlantic offshore wind energy transmission line in May. The decision allows project parent company Atlantic Grid Holdings to go ahead with a right-of-way proposal to build a transmission line capable of carrying 7,000 megawatts of electricity derived from wind energy to the mainland grid.

There are no commercial-scale wind farms offshore in the United States. A project proposed off the coast of Massachusetts could start providing electricity to the mainland grid within the next two years, however.