One of 30 wind turbines in the Kentish Flats wind farm, which produces up to 90 MW of renewable energy for the UK.

Another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could generate enough electricity by next decade, concludes a British government energy department study.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change study concluded that another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could be built off the coast by 2020, generating 25 GW of energy, equivalent to 25 large coal-fired power stations. The new capacity would be on top of 8GW already being built or in planning, making a total of 33GW.

The results of the year-long research into the geology, birds and marine life goes even further than the Carbon Trust, a company set up by government to help businesses reduce carbon emissions, which last year said the UK could build a total 29GW of off-shore wind.

However, the announcement was clouded by claims from the energy company E.ON that the economics of what is the UK’s biggest current off-shore wind project, the London Array off the coast of Kent and Essex, were “on a knife edge”.

Read more of this story »

The UK government announced today that Britain has overtaken Denmark to become the world’s biggest producer of offshore wind power.

The rise to the top of the global league table follows the construction of a new wind farm off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire, which increases the UK’s total electricity generation from offshore wind sources to 590 megawatts (MW), enough to power 300,000 homes.

Read more of this story »

The proposed offshore grid would be more than 3850 miles long, and connect more than 100 wind farms, containing a total of 10,000 turbines to seven countries, including Britain, Denmark, France, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The plans, based on a report written by Greenpeace and environmental consultants 3E, assume that 68.4 gigawatts of capacity, across 118 identified wind farms, will be in place across the North Sea within 10-20 years, and could meet an impressive 13% of the annual energy needs of the countries involved.

Read more of this story »

Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman has announced his support for a plan to increase oil drilling as a means of paying for increased investment in alternative energy. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Coleman announced his intention to join the “gang of 16,” a group of bipartisan senators seeking a compromise energy bill that would approve $20 billion over ten years towards the plan. The New Energy Reform Act of 2008 focuses on three overarching principles:

• Increased domestic production of energy resources, including oil and nuclear. This would include a go-ahead to open new areas for oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf off America’s Atlantic and Pacific Coasts;
• Transitioning vehicles to non-petroleum based fuels;
• A robust federal commitment to conservation and energy efficiency.

Speaking about the plan on Monday, Coleman said, “Nothing is more urgent, or of greater significance to the American people, than solving our energy crisis. The good news is this bipartisan group truly understands that folks around this country are suffering under high gas prices and are bringing forth real, common-sense solutions.”

Read more of this story »

Wind power has had to fight some battles out East, most notably on Cape Cod, MA. There, some residents argue that the proposed offshore wind turbines would be visible from shore and ruin the area’s pristine view. I think global warming may take care of that job, anyway…

The study found that the most efficient area for offshore wind is a region called the Middle Atlantic Bight, which runs from Cape Cod, MA to Cape Hatteras, NC. The shallow water along this area would make it possible to put up a large amount of turbines. Current technology only allows turbines to be erected in water about 60 – 90 feet deep, although Scotland is experimenting with turbines in 150 feet of water. The study’s author, Willet Kempton, believes that some day soon wind power could pop up in as deep of water as 300 feet.

And that’s the depth the East Coast turbines would need in order to generate power efficiently. The study suggests that the installation of 160,000 turbines spread along the Bight area out to a depth of 300 feet would be more than enough power for the whole East Coast. Even better, this clean electricity would cut global warming pollution by 57 percent. Sound far fetched? Not to Kempton: “I think it’s a 100 percent probability [that this project will be built].”

Live Science

The largest fresh water system in the world could soon see its very first wind turbine spinning. An Ohio taskforce of policymakers, businesses, and legal experts are proposing massive wind turbines that could power tens of thousands of homes (up to 20 megawatts) and spur economic development, research, and jobs.

A feasibility test will start with just four to ten turbines three miles out. They may be the first freshwater turbines in the world and the first offshore turbines in the United States.

The cost, as always, gives some pause. Tens of million of dollars and public subsidies may be needed to get the project off the ground. Shipping lanes and weather concerns like waves and ice will also have to be addressed. But this also represents a significant opportunity for the area, as Richard Steubi of the Cleveland Foundation told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the wind farm could make the region a hub for off-shore wind power:

‘We could show industries worldwide we're serious about off-shore’ ventures.

Cleveland Plain Dealer