Power East Coast via wind? Doable with 144,000 offshore turbines, study says. Ingo Wagner / Reuters Offshore wind turbines are seen in Germany's North Sea, along with a service platform that doubles as a transformer sending electricity to the mainland.
Germany and Denmark are leaders in the offshore wind industry. By Miguel Llanos, NBC News Placing wind turbines off the East Coast could meet the entire demand for electricity from Florida to Maine, according to engineering experts at Stanford University. It would require 144,000 offshore turbines standing 270 feet tall — not one of which exists since proposals have stalled due to controversy and costs. The team is not advocating for an "all wind" approach, saying it'd be foolish to put all of one's energy eggs in a single basket, but they do think it could reach up to 50 percent.
The first large-scale offshore wind farm was proposed in 2001 off Massachusetts' Nantucket Island. A. Map shows site of proposed wind farm near Cape Cod. Cape Wind A further limitation is cost. More content from NBCNews.com: Reading, Writing, and Wind Energy. Like the spinning blades of a turbine, a new partnership between GE and Excelsior College is turning work experience into college credits.
GE employees can now earn college credits from completing the company’s intensive renewable energy services training program. This is the first time in GE’s history the company will award college credits to its renewable energy technicians for work experience. Nearly 50 college credits can be earned after completing GE’s Lead Certification Standard, which involves over 500 hours of classroom and hands-on field training at GE’s Energy Learning Center (ELC) in Schenectady, N.Y., where GE’s renewable energy business is headquartered. At the ELC, training takes place on actual GE wind turbine components, including the nacelle, which is installed atop a 200-foot steel tower and houses the wind turbine’s generating equipment. Technicians are trained with a strong focus on safety to inspect and repair wind turbine components. : China Beats U.S. to Become Number One In Installed Wind Power. China surpassed the U.S. this year to become the number one in the world for installed wind power generating capacity.
In the last six years, installed wind power generating capacity in China increased from 2,000 megawatts (MW) to 52,580 MW, according to the country’s state grid company, the State Grid Corporation, which is the country’s largest utility company. In 2011, China generated 70.6 terrawatt hours (TWh) of wind power, a 96 percent increase. The Chinese government projects that China’s wind generating capacity would be more than 100,000 MW in 2015 and 200,000 MW in 2020. China's on-grid capacity reached over 50 gigawatts (GW) to date, according to the State Grid Corporation. This year on-grid wind power capacity under State Grid reached 50.26 GW, an annual growth rate of 87 percent for the last six years. "We have gone through a lot to reach this point," said Shu Yingbiao, deputy managing director of the State Grid Corporation at a press conference.
Wind power advocates balance costs vs. benefits. Imad Mahawili came back earlier this week from Gov.
Jennifer Granholm's signing ceremony for Michigan's latest energy initiative with renewed enthusiasm for alternative energy. Now, with a state mandate for 10 percent renewable energy generation by 2015, Grand Valley State University's Michigan and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon could play a key role in achieving that goal. First on everyone's list of energy alternatives in Michigan is wind-generated electricity. Mahawili has been in the forefront of pushing for research of locating wind turbines on Lake Michigan, but views the economic difficulties of offshore wind-powered generation realistically. Mahawili -- MAREC's executive director since it was founded in 2003 -- praised the new Michigan energy policies, legislation that he has been promoting for several years. But the chemical engineer did some quick mathematical calculations. "Alternative energy is expensive right now and not competitive with coal," Mahawili said.
Atlantic Offshore Wind Turbines Can Power the Entire East Coast. Offshore winds off the U.S.
Atlantic coast could yield enough clean, renewable electrical power for at least one-third of the entire U.S., or the entire East Coast, from Maine to Florida, according to a Stanford University study released Sept. 14. That includes some of the country’s largest urban centers, as well as the nation’s capital. The Stanford research team employed a state-of-the-art offshore wind power model to simulate the installation of 144,000 5-megawatt wind turbines of the type typically found in European offshore wind farms at various ocean depths and distances from shore from Florida to Maine, concentrating them in the typically hurricane-free stretch of the Atlantic between Maine and Virginia, according to a Stanford University News report.