U.S. OFFSHORE WIND STARTS BUILDING

U.S. offshore wind power nears takeoff with 14 projects

Wendy Koch, Sept. 6, 2014 (USA Today)

“Long stymied by high costs and local opposition, offshore wind is finally nearing takeoff in the United States as 14 projects enter ‘advanced stages’ of development, [ a Navigant Consulting/Energy Department study reports]…Two of the projects — Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts and Deepwater's Block Island off Rhode Island — have moved into the initial stages of construction while the others have obtained a lease, conducted extensive studies or obtained a power purchase agreement. Nine are located on the East Coast…These projects represent about 4.9 gigawatts of possible capacity…[O]ffshore wind holds much greater potential [than onshore wind which has now reached a 61 gigawatt capacity and meets nearly 4.5% of U.S. electricity demand] for the United States…[T]he biggest obstacle for offshore wind projects are their high installation costs…Still, his three-year study found that a massive scale-up of 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power [by 2030] could yield…$7.68 billion a year in lower U.S.energy costs, because power generation would be closer to where it's consumed…” click here for more

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