In April, an explosion on a drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana let loose a flow of crude that has now become the largest offshore oil spill in our nation's history.

We cannot at this point even begin to comprehend the final economic and environmental consequences; we can only sense the severity. But we do know that we must do everything in our power to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Although Erie County is far from the Gulf of Mexico, part of the solution to our country's overall energy problems is right here in our backyard. The winds that cross Lake Erie have the power to provide energy to hundreds of thousands of homes. These winds provide a reliable, renewable energy source that can boost our local economy -- if only developers had the authority to construct wind farms off our shores.

I have sponsored legislation that will allow us to do just that. Once enacted, northwestern Pennsylvania could become the home of the first offshore wind farm in America. The bill has already passed the House of Representatives, and Gov. Ed Rendell has expressed his approval. All we need is for the Senate to act.

The concept of the bill is simple: It allows for the leasing of large parcels of land under Lake Erie to develop offshore wind farms. Within a decade, those farms could produce enough energy to power 850,000 homes, helping to set Pennsylvania on the path toward energy independence.

More importantly, this is a jobs bill for Erie County, and much of our infrastructure is already in place. We have the shipyard for construction of the unique installation vessels, manufacturing facilities that already have experience in building turbine components, and the skilled labor force needed to go to work on constructing, installing, and maintaining the windmills.

What we have here is an opportunity to do what we so often say government should do: provide the environment for an industry to thrive, then allow that industry to grow and create renewable energy jobs for northwestern Pennsylvania.

The developers with money to invest are anxiously awaiting the passage of this bill so that they can submit proposals to the state Department of General Services and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

My proposal represents a rare agreement among interests that are often at odds. Environmental groups generally support it because it will increase our use of renewable energy sources. Both business interests and labor have endorsed it because it will allow for the investment and job growth we need to fuel our ascent out of recession. And in a political environment in which bipartisan agreement is rare, Republicans and Democrats in the House teamed up to pass this bill unanimously.

More than a month has now gone by since my proposal, House Bill 2342, was sent over to the Senate. I cannot emphasize enough the need for the Senate to take up the bill as soon as possible. Ohio, New York and Ontario are on the brink of siting locations for their own offshore wind farms. If we act first, we could be the hub of Great Lakes wind development; we could be the exporter of the special lake vessels, and all supply chain technology. But if they act before we do, that opportunity may be lost forever.

If you would like to see manufacturing jobs and high-tech economic development come to Erie, I would encourage you to contact your state senator, as well as those senators who serve on the State Government Committee, to help us bring a new industry to northwest Pennsylvania.