Offshore Drilling: The Governor Says it Could Still Happen Here

Offshore Drilling: The Governor Says it Could Still Happen Here (Added: May 20, 2010)

ONSLOW COUNTY -- Go anywhere today and you'll hear a lot of talk about alternative energy and drilling off the coast of North Carolina. That?s exactly what Governor Bev Perdue found when she made a fe (more)

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By: Shantel Middleton | WNCT-On Your Side
Published: May 20, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, NC - Go anywhere today and you'll hear a lot of talk about alternative energy and drilling off the coast of North Carolina. That’s exactly what Governor Bev Perdue found when she made a few stops in the east on Thursday. In Jacksonville she talked about alternative and offshore energy in the state. The lesson has been taught. It goes far beyond the governor's visit with students at Bitz Elementary School at Camp Lejeune. Cleaning up a massive oil spill in the gulf is making the world rethink offshore drilling.
“With oil and natural gas my opinions have not changed even with what has happened in the gulf coast,” says Governor Bev Perdue.
After visiting the elementary school, the governor attended an on-base solar energy project announcement that will lower electricity costs by using solar panels to heat water.
“My friends you are seeing change happen as we speak. This is going to become the new normal,” says Perdue.
This project is one of the first in what the governor says will be a movement toward a greener North Carolina. When can we expect to see those changes? Well, that depends. The governor says it won't happen unless the safety of the Carolina coast can be guaranteed. The state is working with the federal government. First up is wind energy.
“We are moving forward with the windmills,” says Perdue.
The federal government says the process will take at least three years. The governor's office is working to expedite the process. It’s a different story for drilling for oil off the coast. That could take a while.
“If somebody can tell us that it's not going to degrade our environment or hurt our coastal tourism then we will be interested in moving forward but only if the federal government allows North Carolina to share a piece of the revenue,” she says.
The offshore energy committee has turned its findings over to the governor's newly formed committee for further research. As it stands the federal government is not sharing potential profits from off shore oil drilling with any state. The offshore energy committee’s findings were essentially inconclusive. Governor Perdue says that if it happens the money will be right and there will be strict environmental standards.