The state of Virginia has lost out on plans by the global Wind giant Gamesa to build a wind turbine prototype.
Instead, the company has chosen the Spanish Canary Islands because of the sluggish pace of offshore wind development in the US.
The Spanish company had gotten regulatory approval last March to build a 479-foot, 5-megawatt wind turbine off the Eastern Shore.
The prototype would have been located about three miles off the town of Cape Charles with a completion date set for sometime next year.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that it was seen as a major step toward developing the US wind industry.
The company said that it was still committed to entering the US market, but that the uncertainty over future tax credits for offshore development and a lack of a coherent federal energy policy steered it away from choosing the Virginia site.
