wind industry

More Offshore Wind Proposed For New Jersey | Earth Wise

September 13, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There have been three offshore wind projects previously approved by utility regulators in New Jersey. New Jersey is vying to become an East Coast leader in the fast-growing offshore wind industry and now developers have proposed four new projects off the New Jersey Shore.

Two of the projects would be located far out to sea where they would not be visible at all from the shore. One of them, called Community Offshore Wind, would be built 37 miles offshore from Long Beach Island. It aims to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes.

A second project, called Leading Light Wind, would be located 40 miles off Long Beach Island and would consist of up to 100 turbines that would generate enough electricity to power 1 million homes.

The two companies that are building the already-approved Atlantic Shores Wind Farm have submitted a bid for a new project located 10 to 20 miles offshore. In addition, a fourth application to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has also been submitted, but there is yet no public information about it.

Existing offshore projects have drawn intense opposition from homeowners in part because they are close enough to the Atlantic City and Ocean City shorelines to be seen by beachgoers, albeit as tiny objects on the horizon. The new proposed projects located far offshore would not have this problem.

The new projects can take advantage of existing federal tax credits, but the bidders say they will not seek the tax breaks from New Jersey that the earlier project received as they have also been the subject of legal challenges by opponents of offshore wind.

**********

Web Links

4 new offshore wind power projects proposed for New Jersey Shore; 2 would be far out to sea

Photo, posted March 25, 2016, courtesy of TEIA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Floating Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

April 21, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, floating offshore wind technology is on track to grow from a miniscule market to a substantial contribution to the world’s energy supply over the next decade. Furthermore, the United States represents one of the countries with the greatest potential.

Wind power is stronger and steadier in the ocean than on land, so the use of offshore wind is rapidly expanding. However, because most installations are based on fixed structures attached to the sea bottom, they cannot be installed in very deep or complex seabed locations.

Floating offshore wind is based on structures that are anchored to the seabed only by means of flexible anchors, chains, or steel cables. Apart from making it feasible to place wind turbines in deeper and more distant locations, floating turbines and platforms can also be built and assembled on land and then towed to the offshore installation site.

The floating offshore wind industry is currently in a pre-commercial phase but has great potential. Many offshore locations with great potential in terms of their wind resources are unsuitable for conventional installations either because of the depth of the seabed or its complex structure. This is particularly true of the waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, and the Gulf Coast, which otherwise offer excellent wind resources.

There are many issues to deal with in expanding the use of floating offshore wind, including transporting the power to shore and the ability of the local power grids to handle the incoming power. On the other hand, distantly placed floating offshore wind reduces environmental concerns and eliminates issues associated with the visual impact of wind farms for coastal residents.

**********

Web Links

What’s the potential of floating offshore wind?

Photo, posted May 10, 2015, courtesy of Olin Gilbert via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Is U.S. Offshore Wind Finally Happening? | Earth Wise

March 26, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Offshore wind capacity has been growing rapidly in recent years, especially in Europe and China. Globally, there is now more than 30 GW of offshore wind and industry experts predict that there will be well over 200 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has only two small pilot projects, one with five turbines off Rhode Island and another with two turbines off Virginia. But after many years of battles with determined opponents, false starts, regulatory struggles, and other hurdles, the U.S. offshore wind industry appears to be poised to take off.

A combination of significant commitments by power companies to purchase offshore wind power, strong support by the Biden administration, and billions of dollars in investments is creating the new-found momentum.

New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland have collectively committed to buying 30 GW of offshore electricity by 2035. (That’s enough to power roughly 20 million homes).

Among the first major offshore installations to be completed in the next few years in the U.S. will be Vineyard Wind, 15 miles off of Martha’s Vineyard, another wind farm 60 miles east of New York’s Montauk Point, a third fifteen miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, and a fourth off the Virginia Coast.

Offshore wind projects will create nearly 40,000 jobs just in the New York-New Jersey area over the next ten years. There is still some opposition from elements of the commercial fishing industry and from some coastal residents. However, with state and federal governments committed to reducing carbon emissions and rapidly reducing regulatory barriers, and with the price of offshore wind continuing to get lower and lower, most observers agree that the U.S. offshore wind industry is finally on the verge of really getting going.

**********

Web Links

On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?

Photo, posted August 9, 2016, courtesy of Lars Plougmann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Surging Wind Power In The U.S.

June 16, 2017 By EarthWise

So far, it has been a big year for the U.S. wind industry, which experienced its fastest first-quarter growth since 2009. In total, about 2,000 megawatts of new capacity was installed, enough to power about 500,000 homes. With this addition, wind now produces 5 1/2% of the country’s electricity.