Offshore Wind Power?

by: denniscmcgrath

Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 03:23:31 PM EST

I love renewable energy, I really do. I would be delighted to own a fully electric car that I could recharge on sunny days with solar panels. Maybe I'll live that long. (I'm still waiting for monorails, too, but ... )

Here's a report on some new wind power initiatives.

http://www.nj.com/business/tim...

But WHY oh WHY do they want to build this stuff OFFSHORE? Okay, maybe they're ugly - I wouldn't know. I LIKE oil refineries, I'm the wrong guy to ask if wind turbines are ugly. I think not. But the ecological issue can't be mitigated much by putting them 16 miles offshore - birds fly out there, too - and the added cost to achieve a NIMBY solution just puts these solutions that much further out into monorail land.

What would be slick - really, really slick - would be to plant the wind turbines ALONG THE ROW's of say, the NJT, the GSP, the ACE ... accessible, easy to service and perhaps adding to the state's deplenished coffers.

denniscmcgrath :: Offshore Wind Power?

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Offshore Wind Power? | 5 comments

Where the wind is (0.00 / 0)

Putting wind turbines offshore isn't a matter of aesthetics. It's a matter of practicality. For wind power to be cost effective, it needs a strong and steady supply of airflow. On land, both natural and man-made topography interfere with this, even in places we think of as being "windy."

So in effect, asking why we put wind turbines offshore is akin to asking why we put derricks in oil fields. That's where the resource is easiest to tap into.

by: Scott Shields @ Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 07:40:38 AM UTC

Perhaps so ... (0.00 / 0)

but I would like to see the analysis that explains how steadier prevailing winds offshore 16 miles justify the added expense of building 16 miles offshore. I suspect they don't, at least not in the near term. Wind farms are being built now in Europe and in America on shore with what I assume are economically acceptable results. In the end, we may need to built on shore and off shore - as the wind blows where and when it chooses to, and diversity of sourcing is one key to energy independence. And, finally, it IS a matter of NIMBY aesthetics as to how far at sea you put these towers, which is why the spokespersons for these consortia make the point that, at 16 miles, you can't hardly see 'em. If visual impact wasn't a reason, they wouldn't go so far out or make the point that the towers can't been seen at that range. At sea level the distance to the horizon is about 5 miles; these towers are 400 ft. tall; I'm not going to do the math (because I can't) but they're out past 16 miles so that, at sea level, they are below the horizon, not because there is any more wind 16 miles out than there is at 10 miles or at 5.

by: denniscmcgrath @ Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:08:23 PM UTC

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by: you @ soon

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LIPA sez ... (0.00 / 0)

Last August Long Island Power released an analysis of their own offshore wind farm versus various alternates. They concluded there was no place on LI for an onshore wind farm but that one could be developed in Western PA or MD. Of this, compared to their offshore plans, they said (and I quote):

A representative on-shore wind farm that could conceivably be developed in the western
PJM3 market zone ("PJM Wind"), incorporating the assumption that the energy and
capacity could then be delivered, via transmission across PJM, to LIPA's Neptune cable
in eastern PJM.
This hypothetical on-shore wind resource is believed to represent a renewable alternative
with the highest probability of economic viability. However, it should be recognized that
no specific development activities have been undertaken and the values used herein could
change significantly upon the selection of a specific site and the conduct of a full due
diligence.

Read the whole report here:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t...

by: denniscmcgrath @ Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:46:04 PM UTC

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