vtsnowedin wrote:I wonder if offshore wind installations that happen to be areas of strong tidal currents could have one or two tidal turbines tethered to each wind tower foundation. The tidal power would be more predictable then wind and use the same power distribution cables increasing the energy produced per mile of distribution system.
Great idea! Maybe you could attach wave and solar power modules as well.
I found some news about offshore wind in China (conclusions applicable to USA), and a wind fact sheet.
UK Skills Can Speed 5,000 MW China Offshore Wind Plan For 2015In a tripartite report released Friday, the Carbon Trust has suggested China accelerate its progress with offshore wind energy by taking cues from the UK’s extensive research, funding, and deployment expertise.
Like other nations, the colossus of southeast Asia has major concerns about continuing to rely on coal for energy. Coal currently supplies about 70% of China’s power, and China has relatively recently overtaken the US as the world’s #1 greenhouse gas polluter. The Chinese government has established ambitious targets of 5,000 megawatts (5 gigawatts) of offshore wind power installed by 2015 and 30,000 megawatts by 2030. Supplying large amounts of wind energy close to the country’s huge east coastal cities would help meet demand in a renewable and geographically sensible way.
To that end, the Chinese Wind Energy Association and CECEP Wind-Power Corporation teamed with the British Embassy in Beijing to investigate ways a China offshore wind plan could scale up its capabilities quickly. Over 20 Chinese companies collaborated with the Carbon Trust to assemble the reports (PDFs available below):
Offshore Wind in China—Sharing the UK’s policy experience
Mapping existing technology solutions to barriers identified in China’s Offshore Wind industry
Detailed appraisal of the offshore wind industry in China
Presently, China is developing about 1,000 megawatts of nearshore projects, but technical and commercial barriers are hindering these efforts toward a China offshore wind plan.
The Carbon Trust identified some of the technical issues as corrosion and heat with Chinese-manufactured turbines offshore and uncertain foundation stability for traditional concrete monopile towers in the soft, silty soils of China’s east coast.
cleantechnicaWind Power Fact SheetWind power capacity is an indicator of building a sustainable economy because wind is poised to become the foundation of the new energy economy.
With total capacity exceeding 318,000 megawatts, wind farms generate carbon-free electricity in more than 85 countries. Twenty-four countries have at least 1,000 megawatts.
The wind power capacity installed worldwide would be enough to meet the residential electricity needs of the European Union's 506 million people.
Wind is abundant, carbon-free and nondepletable. It uses no water, no fuel, and little land.
Although a wind farm can cover many square miles, turbines occupy only 1 percent of that area, leaving space for growing crops or grazing livestock.
Unlike coal, gas, and nuclear power plants, wind farms do not require water for cooling.
In China, wind-generated electricity surpassed generation from nuclear power plants for the first time in 2012. Wind's advantage over nuclear increased dramatically in 2013.
In the United States, wind accounted for at least 12 percent of the electricity generated in nine states in 2013, including Iowa (27 percent) and South Dakota (26 percent).
Texas, long the leading oil-producing state, is now the U.S. wind power leader.
investorideasHuman history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
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