Is the Energy Answer Blowin' in the Wind?

In Dublin, Ireland, two hundred wind turbines have been approved for Ireland's east coast in a new development that will be the largest offshore wind-power project in the world.

The wind farm will be sited four miles out to sea, in water up to 81 feet deep, with 200-foot-diameter rotors. It will generate enough energy for 500,000 homes (520 megawatts — as much as a large coal-powered plant), at a cost of $563 million.

On a per-home basis, this cost turns out to be approximately $1 per month for 20 years. The operating costs are, of course, extremely low, and the benefits to health and the environment correspondingly high. Construction will start this spring. By fall, about 20 turbines will supply the first 60 megawatts. (See ens-news.com article.)

England to Put Wind to Work

And more than a million UK households are a step closer to getting their electricity from wind power, as 18 offshore wind farm developers have been granted leases. The UK will build 540 3 megawatt windmills, 200-feet high, three miles offshore, for $2,300 million in capital costs, or $4.26 million per windmill. Together, they will generate enough power for 1.1 million households: 1630 megawatts — as much as two nuclear power plants.

The capital cost comes out to $2,090 per household, or $9 per household per month for 20 years. The mills are designed to last about 30 years, and although there will be repair, operation, and distribution costs, the windmills will be providing economically practical power with no environment damage or toxic byproducts. (See wired.com article.)

In the photo above left, we see two 66-meter-diameter rotors being lifted into place off Blyth, UK, where an offshore wind farm now generates power. The photo is from Blyth Offshore Wind Ltd..

Planning a US Windmill Program

Offshore windmills will continue in the future to be a good, environmentally friendly option for a planned end to fossil fuel usage in the United States. As global warming increases, it is well known that global wind speed will also increase, and thus, so will the windmills' energy production in the next few decades.

The Department of Energy states that the annual US electrical energy consumption is about 4 trillion kilowatt hours. Converting that to simple wattage, this means that the US needs about 450,000 megawatts per year. Since one windmill produces about one megawatt of usable energy per year, we find that the US could supply all of its electrical needs with 300-450,000 windmills.

By increasing the number of mills, electricity could also be used to charge electric cars, or to produce hydrogen for nonpolluting fuel cell-powered cars. Thus, even if zero-point energy did not exist as a potential source, total energy independence is possible with today's available windmill technology!

To learn about a project for making windmill energy a reality in the United States, contact Rich Murray's Room For All, 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, 505-986-9103.