Offshore Wind Power for Humboldt County. Pie in the Sky or Pie?

shortlink here:  http://wp.me/pbr9G-3IE

via Bloomberg:

The University of Maine and partners  including Iberdrola SA (IBE) and  Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. plan to launch the first U.S.  offshore wind turbine today in a pilot project that will help design a $96  million, 12-megawatt floating power system.

The 65-foot (20 meter) tower and  blades will be towed to a site off the coast of Castine, about 35 miles south of  Bangor, Maine, and is expected to be connected to the Central Maine Power Co.  grid on June 2, Elizabeth Viselli, a university spokeswoman, said today in an  interview. The VolturnUS system has 20 kilowatts of capacity and is  one-eighth the scale of turbines that are expected to be deployed in 2016, she  said.

VolturnUS is one of two floating offshore wind projects that Maine is  planning with funding from the Energy Department to supply as much as 24  megawatts of capacity in 2016. Their goal is to reduce the cost of offshore wind  to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2020.

Statoil ASA  (STL), Norway’s state-controlled oil company, in January received approval  from the Maine Public Utilities Commission to build a $120 million offshore wind  farm. The deepwater demonstration facility in the Gulf of Maine will use four,  3-megawatt floating turbines.

much important info here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-31/maine-plans-to-install-first-u-s-offshore-wind-turbine.html

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I published this in 2008.   Pie in the sky, or pie?  I think much more real, and local, than any container port.

https://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/humboldt-empowerment-oceanic-wind-farm/

Humboldt Empowerment Project

GOAL:  Electrical energy self sufficiency (independence) for Humboldt County using a renewable source within five years.

MEANS:  A wind turbine farm placed in a ten mile square at sea twenty miles offshore on floating barge platforms with the electricity collected onshore in one or more stations..  On 500′ centers this will comprise +/- 11,100 turbines.

ECONOMIC NOTES:  Turbines and barges to be assembled locally in Humboldt County.  This project should result in 500 or more local good paying jobs for welders, assemblers and mariners.  If production starts in one year, we need to produce 10 barges per day to complete the project in 5 years.

ENGINEERING NOTES:  Barges should be plug and play, towed out to sea for production and towed to port for maintenance.  Barges, power transmission and anchors should be engineered to survive a 10,000 year tsunami. 

ENVIRONMENTAL NOTES:  Possible effect on seabirds.  Possible effect on fish and marine mammals.  Wind power production at this scale may alter global wind patterns.  Possible conflict with marine shipping routes and fishing zones.

BENEFITS:  Bountiful electric supply for Humboldt produced locally with a small carbon load, a boost to the local economy through cheaper power and good jobs, and a power plant that is very secure against disaster or attack.  Humboldt County will be a world pioneer in wind power energy production.

Should Shell Wind Energy’s Bear River Ridge Project Be Stopped?

or take it at Polldaddy:

http://poll.fm/3ll8e

Ellen Taylor’s letter to the editor:

http://www.times-standard.com/guest_opinion/ci_20179077/tilting-at-windmills-shells-record-fails-inspire-confidence

A discussion on the Humboldt Herald:

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/shell-windmills-dont-blow-away-your-bloody-past/

My proposal October 2008 for an offshore wind farm for Humboldt County:

https://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/humboldt-empowerment-oceanic-wind-farm/

Humboldt Empowerment: Offshore Wind Turbine Farm

Humboldt Empowerment Project 

GOAL:  Electrical energy self sufficiency (independence) for Humboldt County using a renewable source within five years. 

MEANS:  A wind turbine farm placed in a ten mile square at sea twenty miles offshore on floating barge platforms with the electricity collected onshore in one or more stations..  On 500′ centers this will comprise +/- 11,100 turbines. 

ECONOMIC NOTES:  Turbines and barges to be assembled locally in Humboldt County.  This project should result in 500 or more local good paying jobs for welders, assemblers and mariners.  If production starts in one year, we need to produce 10 barges per day to complete the project in 5 years. 

ENGINEERING NOTES:  Barges should be plug and play, towed out to sea for production and towed to port for maintenance.  Barges, power transmission and anchors should be engineered to survive a 10,000 year tsunami.   

ENVIRONMENTAL NOTES:  Possible effect on seabirds.  Possible effect on fish and marine mammals.  Wind power production at this scale may alter global wind patterns.  Possible conflict with marine shipping routes and fishing zones. 

BENEFITS:  Bountiful electric supply for Humboldt produced locally with a small carbon load, a boost to the local economy through cheaper power and good jobs, and a power plant that is very secure against disaster or attack.  Humboldt County will be a world pioneer in wind power energy production. 

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Discuss this at http://groups.google.com/group/humboldtempowerment 

or subscribe via emai by sending a blank email to:

humboldtempowerment-subscribe@googlegroups.com

Contact: bill@humboldtempowerment.org

http://humboldtempowerment.org

Study: Offshore wind could generate all U.S. electricity:

U.S. offshore winds, abundant off the coasts of 26 states, have the potential to generate four times as much power as the nation’s present electric capacity, says a new Department of Energy report.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/offshore-wind-us-electricity/1

Floating turbines promise to deliver reliable wind, says report

The higher up-front costs associated with developing floating wind turbines would be offset by the fact that they would be able to access areas of deep water off the coastlne of the UK where winds are stronger and reliable.

That is the conclusion of a major feasibility study backed by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which is due to be launched later today and will argue that floating turbines are both technically and economically viable.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/11/floating-turbines-reliable-wind

Google to invest in grid for U.S. offshore wind

Oct 12 (Reuters) – Google Inc (GOOG.O) has thrown its financial clout behind a proposed 350-mile (563 km) underwater electric cable off the U.S. East Coast that could form the backbone of a grid carrying power from future offshore wind turbines.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1216453120101012

Humboldt Empowerment – Offshore Wind Power for Humboldt County

Humboldt Empowerment Project 

GOAL:  Electrical energy self sufficiency (independence) for Humboldt County using a renewable source within five years. 

MEANS:  A wind turbine farm placed in a ten mile square at sea twenty miles offshore on floating barge platforms with the electricity collected onshore in one or more stations..  On 500′ centers this will comprise +/- 11,100 turbines. 

ECONOMIC NOTES:  Turbines and barges to be assembled locally in Humboldt County.  This project should result in 500 or more local good paying jobs for welders, assemblers and mariners.  If production starts in one year, we need to produce 10 barges per day to complete the project in 5 years. 

ENGINEERING NOTES:  Barges should be plug and play, towed out to sea for production and towed to port for maintenance.  Barges, power transmission and anchors should be engineered to survive a 10,000 year tsunami.   

ENVIRONMENTAL NOTES:  Possible effect on seabirds.  Possible effect on fish and marine mammals.  Wind power production at this scale may alter global wind patterns.  Possible conflict with marine shipping routes and fishing zones. 

BENEFITS:  Bountiful electric supply for Humboldt produced locally with a small carbon load, a boost to the local economy through cheaper power and good jobs, and a power plant that is very secure against disaster or attack.  Humboldt County will be a world pioneer in wind power energy production. 

---

 

Discuss this at http://groups.google.com/group/humboldtempowerment 

or subscribe via emai by sending a blank email to:

humboldtempowerment-subscribe@googlegroups.com

Contact: bill@humboldtempowerment.org

http://humboldtempowerment.org

Study: Offshore wind could generate all U.S. electricity:

U.S. offshore winds, abundant off the coasts of 26 states, have the potential to generate four times as much power as the nation’s present electric capacity, says a new Department of Energy report.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/10/offshore-wind-us-electricity/1

Floating turbines promise to deliver reliable wind, says report

The higher up-front costs associated with developing floating wind turbines would be offset by the fact that they would be able to access areas of deep water off the coastlne of the UK where winds are stronger and reliable.

That is the conclusion of a major feasibility study backed by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which is due to be launched later today and will argue that floating turbines are both technically and economically viable.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/11/floating-turbines-reliable-wind

Google to invest in grid for U.S. offshore wind

Oct 12 (Reuters) – Google Inc (GOOG.O) has thrown its financial clout behind a proposed 350-mile (563 km) underwater electric cable off the U.S. East Coast that could form the backbone of a grid carrying power from future offshore wind turbines.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1216453120101012

Spain’s Iberdrola Gets U.S. Grants for Wind Projects

By Daniel Whitten

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — Iberdrola SA, a Spanish company, will get most of the more than $500 million in economic recovery funds the Obama administration said today it is distributing to U.S. renewable-energy projects.

Bilbao, Spain-based Iberdrola will get $236 million for wind farms in Texas, Oregon and Minnesota and an additional $59 million for a Pennsylvania wind project, U.S. officials said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAT_d51V3myM

WIND POWER, SI, OUTSOURCING NO

Windmill or Wind Turbine- powered boats: how many are out there, and are they viable?

 

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“In the late 1990’s I built and tested two different versions. They went quite well directly against the wind, but more development work is required to get them optimised.”

http://urlet.com/shines.ashamed

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/projects-proposals/windmill-wind-turbine-powered-boats-how-many-out-there-they-viable-14182.html

Levitating in the wind = MagLev Wind Turbines

Levitating in the wind

Could gigantic maglev wind turbines be the answer to the world’s energy problems? It’s a cool idea, but somehow I doubt it.

Still, that’s what an Arizona-based company called Maglev Wind Turbine Technologies is proposing. It wants to build enormous vertical axis turbines that would use magnetic levitation to reduce friction.

http://urlet.com/pyramid.schedules

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/07/levitating-in-wind.html

Wind turbines inside power line towers – a prizewinner

A French team of an engineer and two architects have won this year’s prestigious Metropolis Next Generation Design Prize for “Wind-it,” a design to place wind turbines inside existing high-voltage electricity pylons.

http://urlet.com/greedy.genie

http://eideard.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/wind-turbines-inside-power-line-towers-a-prizewinner/

Cape Cod Wind Farm Gets U.S. Environmental Approval

By Daniel Whitten and Catherine Dodge

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — The Interior Department gave environmental approval for a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, over the objections of Senator Edward Kennedy and other residents.

Final federal approval to build the 130 windmills, the first in U.S. waters, wouldn’t be granted for at least 30 days, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. The Interior Department’s finding is one of about 20 federal, state and local permits or authorizations needed.

Supporters call the project, under review since 2001, an important step toward developing renewable energy. Opponents say it may cause radar interference to boats and planes and spoil the ocean views from Cape Cod.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ak8T3fYNdHPI&refer=us

Nicaragua Opts for Wind Power

Nicaragua Turns To Wind Power, Builds 19 Windmills
Managua – nergy-starved Nicaragua is turning to wind as it tries to reduce its dependence on oil-based power. In January, the country will begin operating 19 windmills that have the potential to generate 40 megawatts of energy.

Energy Minister Emilio Rappaccioli said the us$90 million project will be operating at full capacity by the end of January and contribute 6 percent of the country’s total energy needs.

http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/december/29/reg02.htm