Offshore Wind Turbines
Offshore wind power refers to the construction of wind farms
in bodies of water to generate electricity from wind. Siemens,
RE Power and Vestas are the leading turbine suppliers for offshore
wind power. Europe is the world leader in offshore wind power
and as of 2010, Europe has 39 offshore wind farms.
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Offshore Wind Turbines |
Experts on climate change and related environmental issues say
that offshore wind power will reduce energy imports and air pollution,
reduce greenhouse gases and carbon emissions and meet renewable
energy standards. The offshore wind turbines are the instruments
by which the offshore wind power is used. Scientists are now saying
that it's possible to power all of the Atlantic seaboard states
with offshore wind turbines.
Experts say that if you spread the wind turbines out far enough,
the Atlantic seaboard will have steady and long-lasting renewable
energy. And in a United Press International article, researchers
from the University of Delaware and Stony Brook University said
offshore wind power resources are abundant but the wind turbines
are currently unable to provide long-lasting power due to natural
fluctuations in wind direction and strength. But they said that
it can still be accomplished by choosing locations for the turbines
that take advantage of regional weather patterns and by connecting
wind power generators with a shared power line.
In April 2009, the Interior Department stated that wind turbines
off the U.S. coastlines could meet the country's electricity needs.
The wind in the nation's coastal states could produce 20 percent
of the power demand for these states, and the biggest potential
are the Atlantic seaboard states but there is also potential for
wind power in the offshore waters of California, Oregon, Washington
State and Hawaii. And internationally speaking, last year General
Electric announced that it will install 4 megawatt wind turbines
off the coast of Norway and Sweden, and these wind farms will
be the size of a football field.
Offshore Wind Farm |
According to a recent fact sheet from
the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, wind currently
provides about 2.3 percent of America's electricity. The
report also stated that in recent years offshore wind turbines
have become more affordable to purchase and install thanks
to renewable energy tax credits from local, state and federal
government as well as increased taxes on carbon in various
parts of the country.
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While more cities and states are turning to offshore wind turbines
as a meaningful source of renewable energy and as a way to curb
greenhouse gases which have a negative impact on the environment,
some people don't agree with offshore wind turbines because the
people feel that these turbines take away from the charm and sometimes
historic nature of their cities or states.
This was the case in Michigan recently when some of is' residents
voiced their opposition to Scandia Wind's desire to install 50
to 100 offshore wind turbines in Lake Michigan. The residents
said that these wind turbines would take away from the beauty
of Lake Michigan, therefore impacting tourism in a negative way.
Scandia Wind eventually left Michigan headed over to Canada where
this was not an issue
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External Links - Sources:
Wired.com
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/04/wind-power-chain
Michigan Radio
http://michiganradio.org/post/west-michigan-residents-voice-opposition-offshore-wind-turbines
Los Angeles Times
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/03/nation/na-energy3
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
http://www.pewclimate.org/technology/factsheet/wind
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