tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post113046995858684893..comments2023-11-03T02:18:41.733-07:00Comments on WattHead - Energy News and Commentary: Is Offshore Windpower Coming to the US?Jesse Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130805856158238122005-10-31T16:44:00.000-08:002005-10-31T16:44:00.000-08:00Thanks Hieko. Cheers...Thanks Hieko. Cheers...Jesse Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130791357403581502005-10-31T12:42:00.000-08:002005-10-31T12:42:00.000-08:00Their website is back up, so I can now give you a ...Their website is back up, so I can now give you a link in English:<BR/><BR/>http://www.iset.uni-kassel.de/abt/w3-w/folien/wind21/overview.html<BR/><BR/>ISET's work is the best I've seen so far, they make a very convincing case that wind can contribute a lot, at a reasonable cost.<BR/><BR/>Highly recommended reading.Heikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839810379331430109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130758309759761842005-10-31T03:31:00.000-08:002005-10-31T03:31:00.000-08:00http://www.klimaschutz.com/FaKli/Czisch-stromverbu...http://www.klimaschutz.com/FaKli/Czisch-stromverbuende_a4.pdf<BR/><BR/>The link is in German, they calculate the lowest cost option for providing all of greater Europe's (1.1. billion people) electricity from renewable sources, assuming today's component costs. They find a cost of 4.7 euro cents per kWh with 70% of the supply being provided by large wind power installations in remote regions.<BR/><BR/>Back-up requirements are low, because long distance electricity transmission allows smoothing effects: if the wind doesn't blow in the Sahara, it'll most likely blow over the North Sea.<BR/><BR/>In a scenario that only allows transmission within Germany and Denmark costs are over 10 euro cents per kWh, and even that scenario assumes large wind power plants. <BR/><BR/>I don't know whether anybody's calculated an entirely distributed scenario (micro wind, micro biomass CHP, micro hydro, small scale solar thermal and PV), but I'd guess the cost would be 50 euro cents per kWh.Heikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839810379331430109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130643327314213542005-10-29T20:35:00.000-07:002005-10-29T20:35:00.000-07:00I'm a Marine Engineer with WEST(Wind Energy System...I'm a Marine Engineer with WEST(Wind Energy Systems Technology). Unlike other organizations involved in wind generation, our firm has 65 years of experience in Offshore structures dating from the first Offshore Oil Well in Eugene Island. Although I cannot disclose the methodology due to patent applications, the Wind Farm is being designed to withstand a Catagory 5 Hurricane.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130620108590497412005-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:002005-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:00Kristen, you've got a good point about distributed...Kristen, you've got a good point about distributed generation (i.e. micro solar/wind on houses/businesses etc.). I agree that the environmental impact is much lower - why build in a new area when you can build on top of already urbanized land? <BR/><BR/>However, at this point in time, at least, there are economies of scale involved that make generating power from a large wind farm much cheaper than generating that same power from a micro-wind turbine on someone's house. Also, while this isnt necessarily the case for solar, the number of suitably windy sites for wind generation that are in an urban area are limited (Chicago does comes to mind though). Most are in farm/grazing land/prairie, offshore or on ridgelines. So, while it may be worthwhile for a few farmers, ranchers, coastal residents or other non-urban residents to put up wind power on their land, most urban/suburban home owners sadly dont have the wind resource to take advantage of (we don't typically like to live in really windy places). <BR/><BR/>Those who do have such a resource should certainly take advantage of it. This applies for solar as well which, while it currently is not as cheap as micro wind, is still dropping in price and is often viable with incentives (see the <A HREF="http://www.dsireusa.org/index.cfm" REL="nofollow">Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy</A> to see what incentives are available for you). Solar resources are also much more widespread than wind resources, even in urban areas. Finally, residential generation of power has to compete with retail power costs, not the cheaper wholesale costs that industrial-scale wind farms have to beat.<BR/><BR/>As for the environmantal impact of wind farms being equivalent to a dam, that I think is an overstatement. While there certainly is an impact, and the impact is likely greater for offshore farms which have to lay underground powerlines and sink foundations into the seafloor for the turbines, it is not comperable to the damage caused by dams. Dams completely alter the entire ecosystem - they obstruct the entire flow of the river, cause water levels to rise and flows to slow down for miles up stream, present a nearly impassible barrier for fish (not counting fish ladders), generally bring an end to seasonal floods which were part of the normal ebb and flow for eons etc. <BR/><BR/>The impact of wind farms is minor in comparison - their footprint lies on only a small fraction of the area of the farm (i.e. only where power lines, turbine towers etc. sit). They do not entirely obstruct any part of the ecosystem which can go on around the towers. Furthermore, the powerlines are buried which may have an impact when they are being laid but after that, they are nearly invisible to the ecosystem. Yes, the installation of the farm will involve an industrial construction process which will be invasive, but after completion, the ecosystem would surely be able to adjust to the presence of the turbine towers spaced at distances as far apart as 1/4-1/3 a mile. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, all energy generation sources have an ecological footprint. As usual, it is the least-bad alternative we ought to look for and wind power has perhaps the lightest ecological footprint of any power source - excepting perhaps distrubted generation, as you mention, Kristen, as it's footprint lies on already decimated ecosystems, i.e. urban lands...Jesse Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130616594769052692005-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:002005-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00As much as I am all about alternative energy sourc...As much as I am all about alternative energy sources, I have to say I'm not convinced wind farms are any more ecologically sound - either on land or in the ocean - than a damn. Any major change to a substrate can cause huge impact on how that ecosystem is balanced. <BR/><BR/>I vote for an increase in small, per-home solutions - if you spread out and create smaller solutions per household, then your not making a HUGE impact on forest or off-shore ecosystems (well, outside of the fact that your building a house or store or what have you in the first place).<BR/><BR/>If every household in America can have a television - I think its completely possible for every one to have a wind or solar system in their backyard. This would eliminate the need for huge energy farms, and help spread the impact on the environment, so to overall hit to the world is not so severe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130569208451251822005-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:002005-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00I was waiting for the hurricane question. This, t...I was waiting for the hurricane question. This, to me, does seem to be a major drawback to situating an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Mexico rather than, say, Nantucket Sound. If this hurricane season's ferocity can be expected to become a new norm (and given the higher surface temps in the Gulf, it may be) then this is a serious concern. <BR/><BR/>On the same note though, are those wind farms in the Western tip of the state tornado-proof?Jesse Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-1130545828421826732005-10-28T17:30:00.000-07:002005-10-28T17:30:00.000-07:00Texas has the second best wind potential energy in...Texas has the second best wind potential energy in the U.S. and the western tip has excellent solar potential as well.<BR/><BR/>However, is this wind farm hurricane-proof?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com