Offshore Wind Has Power

Danish array in Baltic Sea

America's first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind, five miles off Cape Cod is closer to a reality after clearing the final regulatory hurdle in April 2010. Federal approval culminates and exhaustive nine year review of the project by state and federal agencies. Senator Ted Kennedy was part of the opposition to the project {"Cape Wind"} that included local Indian tribes. Cape Wind is a 130 turbine installation that will generate 468MW of electricity or enough to meet almost 75% of demand on Cape Cod as well as the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.  The project developer agreed to perform several years of operational monitoring to assess the turbines' impact on birds, bats and marine wildlife, as well as taking measures to minimize adverse impacts. Construction will begin once long term financing is secured.

The U.S. is behind Europe in the utilization of an abundant source of power in offshore winds. This clean power source is especially important for coastal metropolises such as the Northeastern corridor where demand for electricity is huge. Europe has been developing offshore wind since 1991 (Denmark). Nine countries have developed more than 2,000 megawatts of capacity and another 16 projects are under development. The UK just recently announced tender offers for six projects that will provide 2.8 megawatts to Britain's grid in an effort to meet Europe's greenhouse gas targets. Denmark is already exporting clean wind energy thanks to its numerous offshore arrays. [photo credit: Baltic Sea Solutions]

Here, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates offshore wind has the potential of three times the nation's current electrical capacity. Offshore wind power comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Turbines generate electricity without consuming fuel or water, produce no global warming emissions or pollution. Turbines poses a hazard to migrating birds and bats, and raise human social, cultural and health issues on shore. Part of Senator's Kennedy's opposition to the Cape Wind project was aesthetical since it can be seen on the horizon from his home. Costs associated with offshore turbine arrays are higher than comparable land wind farms. To achieve economies of scale, offshore arrays require many turbines, each requiring remote monitoring and expensive maintenance at sea. Offshore turbines are much larger than land based ones, having a blade diameter on the order of 400 feet or twice the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jetliner. Land turbines have a typical span of 240 feet. Nevertheless as the technology matures and costs come down, offshore wind power is a big business opportunity and a solution to global warming.  Tell that to a plutocrat who lives near you.