1,000 GW of Wind Power Could be Generated in Atlantic

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According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), offshore wind power in the Atlantic has the potential to generate 1,000 GW of power. The US does not have any commercial offshore wind power farms currently, though.

The fact that the US is such a wealthy and technologically advanced country with some environmental awareness and regulations but has such a glaring absence of offshore wind power is beyond shocking.

Meanwhile, it has been estimated the European offshore wind capacity could grow to 150 GW by 2030, in just eighteen years. (Where will the US be by then?) From the first of half of 2011 through the first half of 2012, Europeans have experienced a fifty percent increase in offshore wind.

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In the United States, 2,434 square miles in the Atlantic Ocean may be auctioned by the federal government to wind farm developers. If the auctions go through, wind farms might be installed about ten miles off the shores of six states. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Massachusetts could have new coastal wind farms, but given the delays, it is hard to say when. The auctions might take place at the end of the year, but a precise date has not been set yet.

Most of the potential lease areas are off the coast of Massachusetts. They are located five miles further out than the proposed Cape Wind project, so ruining views from the coasts will not be an issue.

Whatever federal stimulus initiatives that were attempted several years ago might have included offshore wind development. Clean energy projects generally seem uplifting and connected with going forward, and can create some jobs in construction, even if they are not long-term.

Image Credit: Public Domain, Wiki Commons