Last week, I had the opportunity to attend an Open House held in Massapequa Park Village by LIPA and FPL Energy to inform your readers and the general public about the proposed Long Island Offshore Wind Park.

The series of six Open Houses was attended by hundreds of people, asking intelligent questions and providing helpful comments about this timely proposal which would turn our abundant ocean breezes into clean, reliable electricity.

While many offshore wind parks operate successfully in Europe, the Long Island proposal could become the first offshore wind park in the U.S. After seeing an offshore wind park in Denmark, which generates 20 percent of its power from wind, I realized that we, too, can turn our reliable offshore breezes into electricity that is free of pollution and fuel price increases, and not subject to the whims of OPEC and other energy cartels.

It is encouraging that the proposal has received consistently high approval ratings. In a recent News 12 web poll, 82 percent of respondents said they support installing energy producing windmills off the Island's south shore, and a similar Newsday poll found 87 percent in favor.

Our organization, alongside numerous local, state and national environmental groups, is enthusiastic about an offshore wind park because of the urgent need for clean, reliable and safe energy sources that protect our health, environment and quality of life.

Long Island already has its share of polluting fossil fuel-burning power plants. If we are serious about making environmentally acceptable energy choices, we need to curb our NIMBY reflexes so that we can begin to harness the power of offshore wind energy for the benefit of all.

We hope that your readers will care enough about America's energy future to submit comments on the proposed wind park to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before July 22. A public comment form can be obtained from our website at www.LioffshoreWindEnergy.org.

Gorian Raacke

Executive Director

Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI)