ENLIGHTENING Media Release from Save our Sound causes quite a stir... Cape Residents invited to SOUND OFF on this very important issue at the bottom of this page:
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Once thought of as a futuristic technology, the rapid advance of engineering and technology for deep water wind turbines has suddenly created a real alternative to Cape Wind’s controversial plan to build one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects in the heavily utilized waters off the Cape Cod coastline.
Cape Wind has steadfastly rejected deep water as being too far in the future. However, current and near-term projects in Europe now appear to point the way to a deep water alternative that could place Cape Wind beyond shipping channels, commercial ferry routes, and prime commercial and recreational fishing grounds.
Today, offshore projects are being permitted in the United Kingdom and Germany in water depths of 100 feet for construction beginning in 2008. Compare this with Cape Wind's proposal - less than 6 miles offshore in 50 feet of water and with a best-case operating date of 2010 or 2011 - years after other deeper water projects are likely to be up and running.
“It is no longer a question of when this technology might arrive,” says Audra Parker, Director of Strategic Planning for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. “It’s here and it works. In fact, Scotland’s Beatrice pilot project recently erected a second turbine more than 12 miles offshore in nearly 150 feet of water.”
Far offshore sites promise the benefits of wind power without many of the negative consequences of near shore instillations. Deeper water sites offer stronger winds and greater potential. They also pose significantly lower risks to navigational safety and to coastal economies that depend on tourism, as well as fewer visual impacts as they are further from shore.
The potential for deep water sites of more than 100 feet is vast. In 2007, the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) estimated a total offshore wind energy resource of over 1000 GW - an amount greater than the total current installed US electrical capacity. Approximately 90% of this potential resource is in depths greater than 100 feet.
“Cape Wind wants to be near shore because it would make more money for its wealthy investors,” said Parker. “The real question is what is best for the environment, the local economy, and the public.”
For more information, please see the attached Primer on Deep Water Wind.
A Primer on Deep Water Wind
How deep can we go today?
Depths of up to 30 m (or 100 feet) are feasible today.
• A 2006 study by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab shows a depth limit of 30 m for monopole foundations; 60 m limit for tripods, jackets and trusses and practically unlimited depths for floating structures as offshore structures evolve.
• Researchers from the University of Delaware and Stanford University stated that monopile foundations are proven to a depth of 20 m and that lattice structures, specifically the OWEC Jacket Quattropod, have been validated for a water depth of 50 m, and installed in 45 m.
• The University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies considers depths to 50 m, possibly to 100 m, to be potential for proposals within the next 3 to 7 years.
• The Beatrice pilot project has already been operating for nearly one year in depths of 45 m off the coast of Scotland.
While current projects have been largely in the 5 to 20 m range, the 20 to 30 m range offers great potential. Helimax Energy estimates that nearly half of the potential offshore wind resource in the Northeast in shallower waters (up to 30 m) lies in the 20 to 30 m range.
What efforts have been made to make deep water a reality?
Several research efforts are underway that are focused on deep water technology. These include:
• The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, GE and the US Department of Energy have partnered to create the Offshore Wind Collaborative. Its goal is to further the development of offshore wind, especially remote offshore in deep water off the Northeast coast.
• GE and DOE announced a joint venture for deep water development.
• The Energy Research Center of the Netherlands is undertaking a cost and feasibility study of wind plants that could be located from 30 to 120 miles from shore.
• Massachusetts has been selected to host a wind turbine blade test facility for blades up to 230 feet in length.
• Norwegian energy group Norsk Hydro and German engineering firm Siemens recently announced that they have joined forces to research and build a floating wind turbine. The research partnership hopes to have the first turbine generating clean energy in the North Sea by 2009 and to have an off-shore wind energy field set up by 2013, using 5 megawatt wind turbines.
The Beatrice project in Scotland has been operating in 150 feet of water and over 12 miles offshore for nearly one year. Next year, two projects are slated for construction in Germany more than 20 miles offshore and in depths of almost 100 feet. By comparison, Cape Wind’s project would lie in water depths of no more than 50 feet and less than 6 miles from shore.
Available water sheet (sq km)
| 5 – 20 m | 20 -30 m | Total 5 – 30 m |
| RI | 0 | 100 | 100 |
| MA | 1020 | 960 | 1980 |
| NY | 80 | 480 | 560 |
| DE | 200 | 40 | 240 |
| ME | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| NJ | 1360 | 660 | 2020 |
| TOTAL | 2660 | 2250 | 4910 |
According to the Offshore Wind Collaborative, there are 908 gigawatts (GW) of total offshore wind resource in the US, an amount greater than the total current installed US electrical capacity. 809 GW are in depths of over 30 m (or 100 feet
In 2007, the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) estimated a total offshore wind energy resource of over 1000 GW. Again, approximately 90% of the potential is in water deeper than 30m. The potential by region in GW is as follows:
GW of US offshore wind resources:
| Shallow water (<30 m) | Deep water (>30 m) | TOTAL |
| Near shore (5-20 nautical miles) | 60 | 141 | 201 |
| Far offshore (20-50 nautical miles) | 38 | 668 | 706 |
| TOTAL | 98 | 809 | 908 |
| < 30m | 30-60m | 60-900m | >900m | TOTAL |
| New England | 10 | 44 | 131 | 0 | 185 |
| Mid Atlantic | 64 | 126 | 45 | 30 | 265 |
| Great Lakes | 16 | 12 | 194 | 0 | 222 |
| California | 0 | 0 | 48 | 168 | 216 |
| Pacific NW | 0 | 2 | 100 | 68 | 170 |
| US total | 90 | 184 | 518 | 266 | 1058 |
The following table shows several projects in deeper waters currently in the pipeline. It also includes the proposed Cape Wind project for comparison.
| Depth | Distance | Status |
| Cape Wind | < 50 feet | < 6 miles | in permitting earliest operation 2011 |
| Egmond aan Zee (Netherlands) | 65 feet | 6 miles | operating |
| Barrow (UK) | 65 feet | 4 miles | operating |
| South of Tuckernuck | < 90 feet | > 20 miles | alternative |
| Gode Wind (Germany) | 90-100 feet | 20 miles | approved/ constr 08-09 |
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(Posted by JOJO, 09 August, 2007 11:43:39)