CONNECTING OCEAN WIND

Going Deep for Wind; Building a Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Industry
Markian Melynk, January/February 2011 (EnergyBiz Magazine)

"Strong networks are the foundation of a modern economy. Railroads, highways, communications, air traffic and electricity networks provide the capability to move people, goods, information and energy…Networks support a growing economy and save us money…

"The wide open spaces of the Mid-Atlantic outer continental shelf sit next to the New York-Washington megalopolis. The shallow waters and powerful winds of this region are capable of supporting tens of thousands of megawatts of offshore wind energy. States in this area need large new sources of renewable energy, and offshore wind offers the best, utility-scale renewable energy option…[Thew one problem]…is no existing offshore transmission infrastructure and the region's terrestrial grid is congested and generally weak along the coast."

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"The Atlantic Wind Connection…is an offshore transmission backbone that links multiple wind energy production areas that have been screened to minimize permitting conflicts. The project's high-capacity system, using advanced high-voltage direct-current technology, allows wind farms to be built larger, tapping into economies of scale…[T]he project provides an efficient pathway for wind energy to reach the load centers…[and makes] offshore wind energy delivered by the system less intermittent and more reliable. Controllable HVDC converters at project terminals…can accept conventional generation…[if winds fade]…

"The project's dual-use nature - delivering offshore wind and conventional power depending on the weather - is what makes it so valuable. Since offshore winds provide about a 40 percent capacity factor, investments in single-purpose transmission ties produce no benefit about 60 percent of the time. Also, building an offshore wind industry without a backbone will be an uphill struggle against a congested grid and weak coastal infrastructure…The first few offshore wind developers will occupy a handful of points on the coastal grid that have the greatest capacity and require the lowest upgrade expenditures. Developers that come along later will pay much more…[potentially causing] an upward-sloping cost curve…"

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"The backbone transmission project fixes this problem…As the phases progress, an offshore backbone takes shape that both connects wind energy and strengthens the existing grid. Adding an offshore transmission corridor running north and south reduces congestion that inflates prices, with the result that energy markets operate more efficiently and with improved reliability. These benefits save money for consumers and help the project to pay for itself. Predictability is another benefit…

"…America's westward expansion would not have happened without a plan to build a railroad network spanning the continent. Later, power authorities in the western states and the Tennessee valley built hydroelectric dams and transmission systems. These bold initiatives benefitted generations of Americans. They were doubtlessly criticized by some as folly, impractical, unaffordable and unneeded. Fortunately, past leaders saw the wisdom of investing for the long-term good…Let's build a foundation for energy independence and growth in the Mid-Atlantic region."