Offshore Wind 101

Simon Mahan
2011
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 Offshore Wind 101

•  Offshore Wind Background

•  Technology
•  Terminology
•  Resource potential
•  Benefits
•  Impacts
•  Ways to get involved
 Offshore Wind to Date
•  European
experience
–  20 year history
–  2.4 gigawatts
installed
–  150 gigawatts
planned
–  293,000
potential jobs
 Proposed U.S. Offshore Wind
•  U.S. experience
–  35 GW onshore wind farms installed
–  No offshore wind farms installed
–  2 GW planned
 Cape Wind (U.S.)
•  2001 – 1st U.S. offshore wind farm
proposed
–  Cape Wind, 468 MW
•  2005 – Jurisdiction given to DOI/MMS
–  3-200 nm, DOI
–  0-3 nm, State waters
–  200+ nm, International waters
•  2010 – MMS to BOEMRE
–  Cape Wind receives lease
Technology
Technology
 Technology

Credit: NREL
 Terminology
Prefix Capacity (watts) Generation (watt hours)

KILO 1 kW = one small 1 kWh = 1

(1,000) wind turbine microwave per hr

MEGA 1 MW = one mid- 1 MWh = ~1 home

(1,000,000) sized onshore per 1 month (1,000
or turbine kWh)
1,000 x KILO

GIGA 1 GW = one very big 1 GWh = ~1,000

(1,000,000,000) wind farm with many homes per 1 month,
or turbines or ~1 home per
1,000 x MEGA 1,000 months
 Terminology
Wind turbine example
•  4 MW =
4 Megawatt total capacity

•  1 MW per hour = 1 MWh =

1,000 microwaves
•  25% Capacity Factor
•  4 MW per hour = 4 MWh =
4,000 microwaves Credit: Vestas

•  100% Capacity Factor

Resource Potential
 Resource Potential

Capacity limitations
•  Other activities
•  Technology
•  Shallow v. deepwater
•  Cost
•  Distance from shore
•  Low wind speed
GA Resource Potential

Credits: NREL and NWF

SC Resource Potential

Credits: NREL and NWF

NC Resource Potential

Credits: NREL and NWF

 Benefits
•  Environmental
•  Price stability
•  Close to populations
•  Jobs, jobs, jobs
 Environmental
Electricity Generation from Offshore Wind
•  No air pollution
•  No risk of a catastrophic accident
•  No water consumption
•  No mining operations
•  Artificial reefs?
Price Stability

Average Electricity Price

(1998-2009)
10.5
10
9.5
9
8.5
8
7.5
7
6.5
6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Transmission
 Jobs
•  20.7 direct jobs per MW installed
(manufacturing, installation)
•  0.8 jobs per cumulative MW
(operations, maintenance)
•  120 GW
–  96,000 permanent O&M
–  2.4 million job years manufacturing &
installation
 Impacts
•  Cost
•  Marine Impacts
•  Birds
 Cost
Cape Wind, MA:
$0.187 per kilowatt hour
Bluewater Wind, DE:
$0.104/kWh
$$$
DOE Goals: Milhous, Madison; Lloyd, Jeane (2010, Aug. 9). "Petition for
Approval of Two Long-Term Contracts to Purchase Wind Power
and Renewable Energy Certificates," National Grid, Testimony
$0.13/kWh by 2020 submitted to Massachusetts Dept. lf Public Utilities. Docket No.
D.P.U. 1054
$0.07-$0.09/kWh by Power Purchase Agreement, Delmarva Power & Light Company
and Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC (2008, June 23).

2030 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Wind & Water Power Program (2010, Sept.
22). Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States.
 Marine Impacts
•  Construction noise
•  Benthic habitat
•  Electro-magnetic fields
•  Siting and mitigation can reduce these
impacts
Birds
Birds Usually Avoid
Offshore Wind
Farms

Desholm, Mark and Kahlert, Johnny. Avian

Collision Risk at an Offshore Wind Farm. Royal
Society Publishing. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0336
Biol. Lett. 22 September 2005 vol. 1 no. 3
296-298
 Get Involved
Dept. of Energy: Offshore Dept. of Interior:
Wind Innovation and Smart from the Start
Development Initiative –  Watch for public
(OSWIND) comment periods
–  Write AND call your –  Provide data or other
elected officials input
–  Publish letters to –  If public meetings
editors occur, attend
–  Blog on the program
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