Talks needed over density of offshore windfarms in Europe, warn experts - The Guardian
Talks needed over density of offshore windfarms in Europe, warn experts | Wind power | The Guardian
Europe could theoretically produce all of its electricity needs from offshore wind power. With that objective, the continent’s coastal nations are leasing out large parts of their waters. But too dense a forest of turbines could become an economic problem. As the blades of each individual turbine go round, they take strength out of the wind, researchers have found. The blades harvest energy that is then converted into electricity. The net result is that downwind blades will not be turning as fast; the energy otherwise available from the wind can be cut 20% as far as 50km away.
This drop will be enough to make some windfarms uneconomical, especially with construction costs rising and profit margins being squeezed. Some offshore windfarm projects have already been postponed, but despite this a dozen countries are pressing ahead with projects close to the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones, hoping to make the most of the available winds.
There are no international agreements at present on how to deal with potential conflict of interest when these planned windfarms are close to those of neighbours. The researchers suggest political cooperation is urgently needed to avoid international conflict over this resource that could otherwise disrupt Europe’s green energy transition.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.