So, OK. Secretary Salazar found his way into our good graces earlier this week by approving a modest 2010 offshore exploratory plan for the Chukchi – basically will allow Shell to drill three separate test wells further than 60 miles from shore, and maybe, just maybe, provide some clarity regarding whether the $2.1 billion investment it made there in 2008 is worth its salt.

As noted, the news out of Washington wasn’t exactly an unconditional slam dunk. As Shell’s Pete Slaiby noted in the Washington Post on Monday, the Salazar announcement is only one half of the equation — to actually start exploring out there, EPA will need to get off its can as well:

Shell officials called the MMS conditional approval a positive step but noted the company is still waiting for an air discharge permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“It’s critical that we achieve this permit in a timeline manner to enable a go-ahead decision on our 2010 program,” said Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby.

But, OK. At least the secretary is doing his part to move this thing closer to the goal line; and for that, he deserves some encomia. Consider those granted. But then we get press releases from his department like the one we got yesterday – ones that make us stop, reflect, and occasionally laugh out loud.

The release is entitled: “Salazar Announces MMS Plan to Establish Atlantic Renewable Energy Office” – a title that belies the hilarious nature of what’s contained therein. But then you go ahead and read the first sentence:

COPENHAGEN – Today, as he toured the Middelgrunden wind farm near Copenhagen Denmark, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) will establish a new regional office in 2010 to support renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the Atlantic seaboard.

Apparently, Secretary Salazar was so inspired by his boat-ride to Middelgrunden this week that he felt compelled – right there and then – to declare it his government’s intention to do something bold – something unprecedented: open up a regional permitting office for offshore wind at the Jersey Shore.

OK, so maybe it’s not buckle-over-in-writhing-pain hilarious, but seriously – if the rest of the world doubted our country’s commitment to addressing climate change before, there simply can be no doubt any longer. Secretary Salazar and his new seashore permit stand has officially put an end to all that.  

We know he’s busy in Copenhagen this week, but wonder if he’ll ever get up to Alaska to see some of the energy resources we’ve got offshore as well?

UPDATE: Interesting sequence of events here, upon further inspection.

On Wednesday, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced its intention to continue paying 500 employees at a currently idled plant in Salazar’s home state of Colorado – you heard that right: continue to pay them full salary for producing ZERO new wind turbines. And then on Thursday, Salazar visit a Danish wind farm – one in which Vestas has a significant stake (as would be expected, considering it’s Denmark). Probably just a coincidence, is all.

UPDATE II: In addition to wind, did we mention that greener-than-thou Denmark produces a ton of oil and natural gas offshore as well? Secretary Salazar’s press release didn’t indicate whether he visited any of THOSE offshore installations on his boat ride to Middelgrunden – so just in case that little part of Denmark’s history was omitted from his briefing materials, we include this (by way of the Toronto Globe and Mail):

In reality, the Danish economy is more dependent on fossil fuels and the wealth they create than at any time in the country’s history. The fuels come from the North Sea, whose reserves gave Denmark its first oil production in 1972.

In 1990 Denmark’s oil production was 7-million cubic metres (one cubic metre equals 6.3 barrels). Production peaked at 22.6-million cubic metres in 2004. In 2007, the figure was a still-hefty 18.1-million. Natural gas production has doubled since 1990.

A reader reminds us that Maersk Oil is especially prolific in these parts of the North Sea; this map of its existing offshore production facilities (lifted from its website) would seem to confirm that.

It’s not every day (or millennium) that we get to comment on some good news on this blog, a function not of our generally misanthropic outlook on life, but rather: the fact that good examples of good news are so darn tough to come by.

But there’s just no way to pooh-pooh the breaking news today from the Interior Department. Turns out that after five years of back-and-forth in the courts, in Congress, and in and around the executive branch, Shell has finally been told that its offshore energy plan in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea is ready to go – paving the way for the company to begin developing exploratory wells next year on two leases in the area.

The Associated Press has the most thorough wrap-up:

A federal agency announced approval Monday of a plan by Shell Offshore, Inc.’s to drill exploratory wells next year on two leases in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s north coast … The Minerals Management Service said Shell must meet certain conditions, including federal air and water quality rules and marine mammal protection requirements.

Shell Alaska vice president Pete Slaiby called it a positive step toward drilling next year.

Keep in mind that these areas were first included for lease by the Interior Department way back in 2002 – and as readers of this blog should know by now, tracts don’t end up in the five-year plan by accident, not without years of pre-study, analysis and, unfortunately, litigation.

All of which is to say: It’s been a long, hard fight for Shell up here, but it seems to be one they’re willing to continue. Seriously: This is a company that has invested billions of dollars to create permanent jobs here and work with and accommodate native communities – all for the opportunity to risk even more money in the pursuit of American energy resources offshore. But no matter how hard bureaucrats in Washington or judges in San Francisco make it to do that work, these guys just keep coming back for more. Good for Shell. And good for Alaska’s Senate delegation for recognizing how good a piece of news this is:

Alaska’s two U.S. senators praised the announcement. Republican Lisa Murkowski called it an encouraging sign that Alaska’s oil and natural gas resources will continue to play a major role in America’s energy security.

Democrat Mark Begich said the decision showed that Interior Secretary Salazar and the Obama Administration recognize the importance of Alaska’s abundant offshore oil and gas resources, including safeguards for important subsistence resources.

Sure, we can talk about how this is just a drop in the bucket; how so much more offshore acreage in Alaska remains under agency lock-and-key; how Shell, BP and others continue to get the run-around in the Chukchi; how the plan approved by Interior essentially forbids exploration activities for the entire months of September and October. But we won’t do that. Today’s a day to tip a cap, and so consider this a formal doff.

UPDATE: You know what they say: When it rains, it pours. Just a day and a half after Interior gave the go-ahead for Shell in the Beaufort, the agency finally came through with an announcement today that the company’s environmental plan for the Chukchi is “complete” along with it. Here’s the latest from the Anchorage paper:  

The federal Minerals Management Service this week deemed Shell Oil’s application to drill exploration wells in the Chukchi Sea next year to be complete.

That triggers a 30-day deadline for the MMS to review the plan and decide whether to approve it, reject it or require changes.

A previous Shell plan for drilling in the Chukchi was rejected by a federal judge, who ordered a new analysis of the impacts of the drilling.