ENGR0011
Group #
OFFSHORE WIND POWER: THE FUTURE OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Janna Brown (jib26@pitt.edu)
meters deep, 15% in water between 30 and 60 meters, and
the rest in water deeper than 60 meters.[4] The size of this
potential energy indicates that under practical economic
scenarios, offshore wind can significantly contribute to the
nation’s energy mix. Offshore wind power has the potential
to shift the U.S. to a long‐term, low‐carbon economy.
A SOLUTION TO A PERPLEXING
QUESTION
One of the greatest challenges facing engineers and mankind
today is discovering and maximizing the benefits of
alternative energy sources while minimizing the negative
consequences. Offshore wind power presents a viable
solution to the energy crisis that the United States and the
rest of the world face. Engineers are crucial in the process of
designing and building wind turbines to diversify our energy
supply. Offshore wind power can reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, offer cost‐competitive energy to highly populated
coastal regions, and revitalize crucial sectors of our economy
[1].
“Offshore wind facilities today are generally developed and
operated as follows. Once a suitable place for the wind
facility is located, piles are driven into the seabed. For each
turbine, a support structure and a tower to support the
turbine assembly, to house the remaining plant components,
and to provide sheltered access for personnel are attached to
the piles. After the turbine (generally a three-bladed rotor
connected through the drive train to the generator) is
assembled, wind direction sensors turn the nacelle (a shell
that encloses the gearbox, generator, and blade hub) to face
into the wind and maximize the amount of energy collected.
Wind moving over the blades makes them rotate around a
horizontal hub connected to a shaft inside the nacelle. This
shaft, via a gearbox, powers a generator to convert the
energy into electricity.”[2]
PROS OF OFFSHORE WIND POWER
Offshore wind power will help lower the amount of
greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Greenhouse
gases warm the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere,
causing climate changes. This may result in glacier retreat
and a rise in sea level [5]. On average, one gigawatt of
installed offshore wind power capacity generates 3.4 million
megawatt‐hours of electricity per year. Using fossil fuels to
generate the same amount of electricity would produce 2.7
million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually while
consuming 27.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas or 1.7
million tons of coal. [4] Wind is a renewable energy which
means it does not deplete our natural resources (such as coal
or petroleum based products do).
Power generation is a leading cause of air pollution [5].
After manufacturing, wind power does not cause any air
pollution. It is a clean energy which means that it does not
do harm to the environment.
The production of offshore wind mills will also stimulate
important parts economy by investing in infrastructure and
creating skilled jobs. “According to NREL analysis and
extrapolation of European studies, offshore wind would
create approximately 20.7 direct jobs per annual megawatt
installed in U.S. waters.” [4]
THE POTENTIAL FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Offshore Wind Power Vs. Land-based Wind Power
The potential for energy generation of offshore wind is
massive due to the vast U.S. coastline. Inshore winds blow
weaker and more inconsistently than offshore winds,
implying that offshore winds present a greater potential for
energy generation [3]. The U.S. Department of the Interior
currently has 12 approved projects which are predicted to
produce almost 4,000 megawatts of energy. This is enough
energy to power over 1.2 million homes in the United
States[1].
“Offshore wind resource data for the Great Lakes,
U.S. coastal waters, and the Outer Continental Shore
indicate that for annual average wind speeds above 7 meters
per second (m/s), the total gross resource of the United
States is 4,150 GW.”[4] This approximately quadruples the
generating capacity of the current U.S. electric power
system. About 25% of this capacity lies in water less than 30
Until recently, offshore wind power has been somewhat
ignored because land-based installations have the potential
to fulfill energy needs. But the challenge of transmitting the
electricity to the large load centers limits wind grid
penetration for land-based turbines. Offshore wind turbines
can generate power much closer to higher value coastal load
centers and so they would be a much more ideal choice.
With sufficient technology enhancements and higher
production of installations, some analysis indicated that
costs could be as low as $0.051/kWh for deep water
installations [7].
Because offshore winds consistently blow more
powerfully and steadily than onshore winds, offshore wind
turbines operate at greater capacity factors than wind landbased wind power [3]. Offshore wind installations also do
1
Your Name
not pose the negative scenery effects that land-based
installations do.
A frequent complaint about land-based wind mills is that
they can generate a noticeable amount of noise. The noise
caused by offshore wind installations is not an issue because
of their location.
energy sources with less damaging effects. I believe that
engineers, myself included, can play a huge role in the
development of more effective and inexpensive offshore
wind power installations to help the energy crisis. Wind
power is a pollution-free source of energy that can help
reduce our use of fossil fuels and minimize the U.S.’s
dependency on foreign fuels. Offshore wind installations
have the potential to fulfill a huge quantity of the United
States’ energy demands while remaining virtually unseen.
The potential amount of energy that could be harnessed
using offshore wind installations is too immense to be
ignored. It is critical that engineers further research this form
of energy production because it contains few negative
effects while offering numerous benefits.
DISADVANTAGES OF OFFSHORE WIND
POWER
Offshore wind power desperately requires the assistance
of engineers to minimize capital costs. Offshore wind
installations have higher capital costs per unit of generating
capacity than land-based mills mostly because of balance-ofsystem infrastructure and installation. Research and
experimentation by engineers is needed to reduce the
installation and maintenance costs of these installations,
improve their reliability, and maximize their life span.
“NREL estimates a current baseline of installed capitals
costs for offshore wind at $4,250 per kilowatt based on
energy market surveys” [3].
Because there are currently no wind installations in U.S.
waters, there is a lack of critical data on the environment
effects of wind turbines and on the installation, procedures,
and sustainability of these turbines in the U.S. environment.
This absence of data heightens the costs of financing
offshore wind products, so much so that half of the cost of
these products can be accredited to financing charges [1].
Marine life, migrating birds, and other interference with
endangered or threatened species need to be considered.
Marine life may be disturbed by the installations and tower
illumination may cause navigation confusion and collisions
for birds. Electromagnetic fields as a result of the electric
cables connected to the turbines and underwater noises and
vibrations could affect orientation of endangered and
threatened species.[2]
Engineers are also needed to solve the problem caused
by grid interconnection and operation and infrastructure
challenges. The effects of adding immense amounts of
offshore wind generation to the power system need to be
explored and better understood. Vessels and particular
portside infrastructure need to be built to support these
offshore wind installations.
Much of the research done on offshore wind power has been
with installations in Europe. Because U.S. waters tend to be
deeper than those on the European coast, engineers will be
needed to invent new technology to overcome the structural
challenges presented by the depth of the water[7].
REFERENCES
[1] J. Beaudry‐Losique, T. Boling, P. Gilman, M. Hahn, C.
Hart, J. Johnson, L. Morton. (2011). A National Offshore
Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Energy Industry
in
the
United
States.
(Online
Report).
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/pdfs/national_offshore_
wind_strategy.pdf
[2] “Offshore Wind Energy” OCS Alternative Energy and
Alternate Use Programmatic EIS Information Center
(Government
Website)
http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/wind/index.cfm
[3] M. Schwartz, D. Heimiller, S. Haymes, W. Musial
(2010). “Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources
for theUnited States” NREL Innovation for our Energy
Future.
(Online
article).
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/45889.pdf
[4] W. Musial, B. Ram. (2010). “Assessment of
Opportunities and Barriers.” Large-Scale Offshore Wind
Power in the United States. (Online article).
http://www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/40745.pdf
[5] V. Ramanathan. “Air pollution, greenhouse gases, and
climate change: Global and regional perspectives.”
Atmospheric Environment (2009). (Print Article). Vol. 43,
no 1. Pp. 37-50.
[6] M. Esteban. (2011). “Why Offshore Wind Energy?”
Renewable Energy. (Print article). Vol. 36, no 2. pp.444-450.
[7] W. Musial, S. Butterfield. (2009). Future for Offshore
Wind Energy in the United States. (Conference Paper).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would thank the Writing Center and writing instructors for
their assistance and helpful hints with this assignment. I
would also like to thank Joy Frazier and Sri Karanam for
sitting in the lounge with me during this painful process.
THE IMPORTANCE OF OFFSHORE WIND
POWER
The need for alternative energy resources has continued to
grow over the past decade. The negative effects of
greenhouse gases has forced engineers to search for new
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