Right now, Denmark, with about 400 megawatts installed, is the world leader in offshore wind.
Right now, Denmark, with about 400 megawatts installed, is the world leader in offshore wind. But its glory days may soon be over. The United Kingdom is on track to become number one in the world. Spain, too, is planning a significant presence in offshore wind.
Others? China and perhaps India could step into the contest. The US, with long coastlines on two of the world’s major oceans, may get some under-the-horizon offshore wind (eventually) but will probably have to wait until deep water, over-the-horizon wind is economical to be a big offshore wind player (Wealthy waterfront home owners will fight vigorously to prevent the machines from being planted in what they consider their front yards.)
That’s OK though most of the good onshore wind resources in the US have yet to be tapped. Onshore will always be cheaper than building in the harsh oceans anyway.
Back in the UK, Airtricity and Fluor have been given permission by the UK government to build Greater Gabbard, a 500 megawatt project slated for 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Suffolk coast. It will have up to 140 turbines ranging from 3 to 7 megawatts each.
When built Greater Gabbard will join London Array (1000 megawatts) and Thanet (300 megawatts) as the UK’s mega offshore wind parks. But there are likely more large projects to follow. Currently operating, and those with consent to build, represent more than 3000 megawatts, the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the nation’s electric supply: that’s only a beginning There’s a total 8,700 megawatts of offshore wind in various stages of development in the nation.
No one else even comes near, unless secretive China has offshore wind already under construction. That country has decreed that 30,000 megawatts of wind must be installed by 2020. Some of that will be offshore.
In Spain Endesa CogeneraciÛn y Renovables, S.A. an affiliate of Endesa and Enerfin-Enervento, S.A., part of the Elecnor Group, have joined hands to create the Cape Trafalgar Marine Wind Consortium. The 50-50 partnership will focus on tapping the 3000 megawatt offshore wind potential in the nations waters. Spain’s offshore wind potential represents about a quarter of currently installed onshore wind.
The best opportunities for offshore wind in Spain are along the east and south coasts where waters are shallow and wind resources are good. Cape Trafalgar Marine will focus first on the southern coast.
Onshore Endesa has been busy in Italy as well. Three years ago the company signed an agreement with Gamesa, the turbine builder, to acquire wind power projects there equaling 440 gigawatt hours per year in generation capacity. The result, with Endesa’s purchase of seven wind projects, is 240 megawatts in its Italian wind portfolio.
Even without a major push for offshore wind, onshore wind sales in the US are brisk.
GE has announced it will be supplying 300, 1.5 megawatt turbines to Noble Environmental Power for installation in projects in New York State in 2007 and 2008. The turbines will be used for expansions of Bliss Windpark, in Wyoming County in the western end of the state; and the Clinton Windpark, in Clinton County in northern New York.
New York State, by the way, currently has about 370 megawatts of installed wind capacity, about a tenth of what’s possible there. A study in 2004 concluded that about 3,300 megawatts of new wind power capacity could be safely added to the state’s electricity transmission grid.
In the Wray School District of Wray Colorado, one 900 megawatt turbine is enough for now. The school board there has approved the purchase of an Americas Wind Energy Corporation (AWEC) AWE 54-900 turbine.
AWEC says that the School Board was attracted to the advanced technology, high reliability and low-maintenance features of its turbine. The turbine is a direct drive design which eliminates the pesky gearbox.
nrglink.com
