Newsclip
Blueprint drafted for offshore wind farms
By Kevin Dennehy
Staff writer
Cape Cod Times
October 1, 2005
A coalition of public and private advocates of offshore wind energy -- including General Electric Co., the company that would provide the turbines for the Nantucket Sound wind farm -- has published what it hopes will be the blueprint for making the emerging industry work in the United States.
More than 900,000 megawatts of untapped energy -- or the rough equivalent of the nation's electrical capacity -- hides in the winds within 50 miles of the nation's coastline, according to federal energy officials.
What is lacking are the advances in technology and the regulatory process necessary to make it happen, concludes a report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and General Electric.
Wind holds the promise of less reliance on fossil fuels, cleaner air and more jobs in the region, said Greg Watson, vice president for sustainable development and renewable energy for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
But the nation won't get there, he said, unless it asks the right questions and sets up the foundation.
“What we hope is people will look at this and say, this is viable, this is needed,” Watson said yesterday from a wind symposium in California, where the report was released. “And let's find out if we can do it.”
GE officials, who have an agreement to provide the turbines for the proposed Cape Wind project, approached the state collaborative to create a framework for offshore wind development.
While the general public stands to benefit from the development of renewable energy, Watson said, it will take private investment to make the emerging industry work.
Among other things, the group identified challenges and recommended strategies to address them, including:
- advance offshore wind technology
- achieve environmental compatibility
- achieve economic and financial viability
- clarify regulation and government policies
The coalition also recommends establishing leadership groups to coordinate the emergence of the industry.