OFFSHORE WIND FOR THE WORLD

Copenhagen's offshore wind industry shows global potential
Aubrey Ann Parker, December 13, 2009 (Detroit Free Press)

"When it comes to wind power, Americans have all kinds of excuses not to use it. "It's too expensive" or "Not in my backyard" (NIMBY… they don't want a tall, skinny, white turbine obstructing their beautiful view…)… this is all a sham…

"…Detroit is rusting from the inside out. Michigan is currently experiencing a 15% unemployment rate…Why aren't we using our technical expertise and warehouses full of machinery equipment to help optimize wind turbines that could be used throughout the world? …[A] three-hour tour [of] Middelgrunden Wind Farm, just off the coast of Copenhagen…[highlighted] the need for better turbine design so that wind energy can become more affordable…But [for onshore and offshore wind] the potential is there, and estimates say the demand is growing fast."

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"…There are 11 offshore wind farms just like [Middlegrunden] scattered along the Danish coastline, but it still manages to retain its beauty…The coastline at Middelgrunden is marred with carbon emitting stackhouses… Denmark has 5,100 wind turbines total —- 78% of which are onshore, 22% offshore -— contributing to 20% of Danish electricity production…[B]y 2020 this will increase to 50%…

"…Michigan could lead the green revolution —- supplying wind turbines to the world instead of automobiles —- if we could only think outside the dinosaur graves buried beneath the Middle East. The laws of economics apply here: As fossil fuels become scarce and supply decreases, demand (and therefore price) of these industries will increase to an amount that no one can afford to pay…So why are we giving false hope to workers in Detroit by filling jobs manufacturing high mileage cars that we know are only temporary fixes? Why are we proposing to use our industrial knowledge and resources to build six new coal plants, if we know that the price of this energy is only going to increase? Why, instead, aren't we seeking our own, domestic solution to this very foreseeable problem in the near future? Shouldn't we be producing and manufacturing our own wind turbines, as well as supplying them to the rest of the globe?"

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"Simply put, because nobody wants a shiny white turbine obstructing their view of crystal clear Lake Michigan. Absurdity! …[A]t least we can sell the technology to other places like Denmark…The Danish wind industry started after the first oil crisis in the 1970s. Denmark was looking for domestic solutions to foreign fossil fuel dependence…[T]he market began with onshore wind turbines, offshore development—which produces 30% to 40% more energy per turbine -— has experienced a steady increase, expected to grow 45% annually in coming years. This means that in 2015 6% to 7% of the world's wind energy will be offshore, and the European Union will increase to 20% offshore…

"...Currently, there are wind projects totaling 33,000 MW under construction now, 22,000 of which are in China alone. Almost 29,000 MW of wind power are currently generated in the United States…I hope as we go into the next week of negotiations that the U.N. does decide to implement strict renewable energy goals. And I hope that the Michigan manufacturing industry will be watching."