Renewable Energy from Offshore Wind Farms

At present, wind power produces only about 1% of the total electricity produced in the U.S. In May, the Energy Department concluded the figure could be closer to 20% by 2030, with some of that figure coming from offshore sources.

At present there are no offshore wind power sources in the U.S. but Delaware hopes to be the first to have an offshore wind farm. They have target date of 2012 to complete their project. There have been several other projects that have cleared roadblocks in the past several months. Although offshore wind power has lagged behind offshore drilling for oil and natural gas for energy, its believed that wind turbines will be spinning before oil platforms appear along the coastline. Offshore wind farms would mostly be located off the Atlantic coast because most other areas drop off too quickly to be able to anchor the turbines.

Bluewater Wind, an investment firm which operates wind farms in several states, has proposed to build between 60 and 200 turbines off the coast of Delaware with a half mile between each one. A turbine would have a pole sunk about 90 feet into the seabed floor with three 140-foot spinning blades at the top. The highest point would be about 400 feet in comparison the Washington Monument is roughly 555 feet.

Ideally, offshore wind farms should be located in areas where winds blow continuously at high speeds and new research is able to identify the areas where these winds are located. Winds are generally stronger over the ocean than on land because there is less friction over water to slow the winds down and there are no hills or mountains to block the wind's path. Ocean wind farms also have less environmental impact than onshore wind farms, whose noise tends to disturb humans and wildlife in their immediate area along with the death of birds hitting the blades.

In a surprise to many opponents, wind farms residents along the Eastern seaboard are generally approving of wind energy as a stable priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative which offers more long range energy independence. With gas hitting $4.00 a gallon it appears that people are more open to discussing alternatives to oil.

Unlike some other Atlantic seaboard area a project in Cape Cod had been successfully turned back until recently with some well funded opposition arguing that it would hurt the ocean view. The 130 turbine project has now cleared most of the regulatory hurdles and its hopeful that within 4 years it will be operational.

Cape Wind Associates, a subsidiary of the New England power company Energy Management Inc., has spent more than $30 million on the Massachusetts project, investing profits from its natural gas-fired power plants, said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.

In New Jersey, Daniel Cohen, the president of the offshore wind developer Fishermen's Energy, said the organization reassessed its opposition, deciding to view offshore wind as an opportunity, not a threat. Fishing company owners have put up the money for the project's development stage.

Most of the opposition to wind farms on land has come from environmentalists citing the number of bird deaths and that the noise disturbs wildlife and humans. Aesthetics are also named as a reason not to build them, especially where the can be seen by residents or tourists.

There are others who claim that wind farms don't decrease the use of fossil fuels, they aren't efficient or they cost more than the benefits derived from them and the money should not be spent on wind farms but on real solutions, but don't say what these solution would be.

The problems with land wind farms is that there are not a lot of places that have the wind velocity to make it viable, they have to locate them away from bird flyways and heavy animal habitation plus they have to be away from human habitation. When all these things are taken into consideration its not hard to see why opposition wins so many of the battles.

When oil hit its peak wind farms got a lot more attractive. I believe locating them in the ocean or on floating platforms make a lot of sense. A steady source of wind with no obstructions is probably the main reason. They would be far enough from shore that they wouldn't be much of an eyesore especially if there was a half mile between them. Birds would have plenty of room to maneuver around them or under the blades as many sea birds fly close to the surface of the ocean. There would be no animals to disturb and the fish wouldn't be bothered any more than they are by oil rigs which they love. Humans wouldn't be close enough to be bothered by the noise. Boats would have plenty of room to navigate around them.

It appears to be a no brainer to utilize as much renewable energy as possible. Although the wind farms may not produce much in the overall scheme of things every little bit helps. Even if they aren't that efficient now they will improve as more of them are put into use and companies keeps trying to improve the bottom line profits.

Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709210529.htm
http://www.livescience.com/environment/070214_wind_farm.html
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/09/09/delaware-leads-race-to-build-offshore-wind-farm/
www.ocean.udel.edu/Windpower/