Offshore Wind Energy Essay

With no doubt in mind the wind power plants are safer than most power providing resources. Providing clean energy for the human race and having a positive influence on climate change, the wind power industry is on a rise. With help from the government and with companies becoming more prominent on efficient energy, we could see an even bigger demand for wind power. Environmentally, the wind farms are one of the safest because of the low carbon and emission levels. Continuing are efforts to a safer future, the world is looking into wind farms more and more to help generate enough energy for the human

In a growing world, electricity production is becoming a problem due to coal fired electrical plants releasing millions of gallons of greenhouse gases, ecological problems with pollution in water, and health risks concerning workers and people living nearby. But with new technology and advances in renewable energy sources, wind energy is becoming one of the most popular energy sources for many states.

According to a study by Archer and Jacobson, the wind power potential provided by just the windiest 13% of the planet’s land area is five times the power that we currently use – 72 terawatts (Archer, Jacobson, 2004). However, while the

One of the fastest growing energy sources in the world, wind power is a globally advantageous renewable resource.

A total of 350 wind turbine units has been delivered to BP projects that when in operation will have a combined power generation of 560 MW

For instance, based on the United States, there could be an abundantly large number of new jobs. In Offshore Energy by the Numbers it states that “offshore wind could create about 91,000 additional jobs along the Atlantic coast, which is 71 percent more than could be created by offshore oil and gas drilling”. Creating more jobs has always been a top priority in the states and this is a simple solution. Just in Rhode Island roughly 100 more jobs have been created from wind energy construction. Block Island has recently become home to the United States’ first offshore wind farm and in starting a new industry of jobs for America. Deep Water Wind, which describes itself as America's leading offshore wind developer, quotes the Rhode Island governor, Gina Raimondo, “‘Projects like the Block Island Wind Farm are the future not only of Rhode Island’s economy, but the whole country’s economy, with this project, Rhode Island continues to position itself as a leader and an innovator in the industries of the future.’” This quote is the perfect instance of how wind energy can affect such a small state, and such a large nation. The Block Island Wind Farm was an exciting start for a tremendous push into the wind

With the difficulty’s wind power companies are having inland, there is a big push to go offshore, and the great lakes seem to have every component for a successful wind farm. (Lots

Wind power supports 73,000 well-paying jobs across all 50 states. Nearly 20,000 American workers at over 500 factories across 43 states now build wind turbine parts and materials. The DOE’s Wind Vision report says growing wind energy to supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030 could support 380,000 jobs.”

Just in 2008 wind power provided 15,000 megawatts of power, the equivalent of powering 3 million houses. Every megawatt produced by wind reduces 1,220 pounds of CO2 emissions. If the US had 20% of power produced by wind it would be the same as taking 71 million cars off the road and planting 104 million trees. These huge wind turbines don’t build themselves, it would generate millions of consistent jobs for americans. Wind-generating capacity in the United States grew 39 percent per year from 2004 to 2009, and is expected to grow more rapidly as demand for renewable energy increases. As the wind energy industry continues to grow, it will provide many opportunities for workers in search of new careers. Wind energy careers extend beyond the windfarm to the offices and factories which they are

The big countries like US, Canada, Brazil, China and Germany still have the greatest renewable power generation capacity. These countries seem to rule when it comes to renewable energy source. For the first time, China’s new renewable power capacity has passed new fossil fuel and nuclear capacity. In the 2014 edition of the REN21 report it states that, while Europe and North America have become the top markets for renewable energy, other countries have seemed to pick up some of baggage and could also be the future leaders of it. REN21 has found so

Europe has been the vanguard of innovation and novelty in offshore wind. In Denmark, the very first project of offshore wind was established in 1991. Despite its present non-existence of noteworthy offshore capacity, the U.S. also has plans for the improvement of offshore wind power of the Atlantic coast.

It drops almost 90 percent. (Brown 2005) (See Figure 2) However, the U.S was still behind Europe, because of some political and financial issues. Many European countries had started on building windmill projects. Europe comprised two-thirds of the global use of wind electricity-generating capacity. (Brown 2005). The leading countries that use wind power are Germany, Spain, USA, India and Demark. In addition, other countries are now started to utilize wind energy. Asia’s growth is up to 7000KW in 2005. (Florence 2006).

“Worldwide, hydropower facilities possess a significant amount of installed electric generating capacity. IEA statistics indicate that at the end of 2001 there was in excess of 450,000 MW of installed capacity within IEA member countries, with about half in Europe and half in North America. In addition to conventional hydropower, there is more than 80,000 MW of installed pumped-hydro capacity in IEA countries. In contrast, utility-scale wind power is relatively new in the electric market, but increasing rapidly” (Integration of Wind and Hydropower Systems)

Deal, 2010, ‘Wind Power: An Emerging Energy Resource’, Technology and Engineering Teacher, pp. 9-15, viewed on September 12, 2011, retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/853062621/fulltextPDF/13255EC175479D10C7A/1?accountid=42518

Wind power is a clean and renewable energy that, while at times unreliable, has very low upkeep cost and is growing at a rapid rate. While there is currently enough wind power to provide many times our current energy need, it is unfeasible in reality. Wind power utilizes the kinetic energy of air and uses it to power a generator to produce electricity. Even though dependence on wind power is impossible, it still can provide a strong, clean, quantity of power to supplement current energy production.