THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL OF U.S. OCEAN WIND

DOE: 54-GWs of Untapped Offshore Wind Power

Andrew Burger, October 6, 2014 (TriplePundit)

“At least 54-gigawatts (GW) of U.S. offshore wind energy generation capacity could be deployed by 2030…5 GW of offshore wind power could be online within a decade…[B]oth alternating current and direct current methods show promise in transporting offshore electricity to the land power grid…Deploying 54-GW of offshore wind generation capacity would cut annual national electricity production costs by some $7.68 billion – that’s about $41 per megawatt-hour of offshore wind energy added to the grid. The cost reductions help justify the high initial capital outlay required…Though the technological and engineering aspects of deploying offshore wind generation assets are well understood, significant challenges remain, [according to the National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study (NOWEGIS) from the Department of Energy]…Actually taking advantage of all that clean, renewable power potential depends on a host of political and economic factors, including [state policies, federal permitting processes, and advances in offshore wind energy technology]…” click here for more

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