Republican Gov. Pat McCrory asserted his political independence on energy policy this week by throwing his support behind developing wind farms in North Carolina.

Not just any wind farms, but offshore wind farms, which are considered among the most expensive forms of electricity, and generally denounced by conservatives and libertarians as a subsidy-dependent boondoggle.

McCrory notified the feds that he endorses the Obama Administration's efforts to develop offshore wind power. The newly installed governor is making his pro-wind overture at a time that his Republican allies in the state legislature are making plans to roll back North Carolina's 2007 energy law that requires electric utilities to use wind power and other renewables.