Hello! I have a short post today. Hopefully I’ll be back with more in-depth content in the near future.
As part of the transition away from fossil fuels, we will see the growth a number of new kinds of energy production, including offshore wind. The US is pretty far behind other countries when it comes to this, but things are moving pretty quickly now. Every state from Maine to North Carolina is developing offshore wind projects.
Offshore wind has a lot of advantages but there are also challenges. Let’s start with the good.
First, offshore wind turbines are much larger than their onshore competitors. New offshore wind turbines being developed are 3x the height of the Statue of Liberty, and they produce 14-15 megawatts of power. One of these turbines could power over 1,000 homes. The height of the turbines is also beneficial because winds are more consistent higher in the atmosphere. New offshore wind turbines have a capacity factor of over 60% (compared with about 30% for onshore projects). This means they produce more electricity more consistently than other renewable sources (other than hydro electric). Offshore wind can also be sited relatively close to major population centers. Cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and DC all have major space constraints, but there is plenty of room offshore. These farms are typically about 15 miles from the coastline. Given the diffuse nature of renewable energy, it’s unlikely that our big coastal cities can decarbonize without some significant offshore wind (unless they switched over to nuclear, which has its own challenges).
However, there are a lot of challenges. First, perhaps not surprisingly, offshore wind is more expensive than other renewables. Some of this is just normal, since it’s more difficult to build big infrastructure in the ocean than it is on land. But some of it is because America doesn’t have the experience or the supply chain. As the industry grows in this country, costs will come down. In addition to the turbines themselves, we need oceanic transmission infrastructure (i.e. power lines under the water) to connect the farms with the users on land. These facilities are going to produce a lot of electricity so we’ll need pretty robust transmission infrastructure which doesn’t exist at the moment.
There are also some ecological concerns related to fish and wildlife, as well as concerns from commercial fisherman and coastal landowners. These issues can be resolved, but they should not be ignored.
Right now, most of the best area for offshore wind is on the east coast, because there is more available continental shelf. Offshore wind turbines are currently attached to the ocean floor. But, floating wind turbines will open up the west coast for development there as well.
The advances in this area are pretty exciting, but the costs, siting, and occasional opposition threaten this nascent industry. Some coastal communities that relied on fishing may be revitalized as this industry grows. Here in Massachusetts, the town of New Bedford is the focal point for the new offshore wind infrastructure, and other towns in other states are doing the same thing.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!
The Mangrove 