Virginia Approves First Offshore Wind-Energy Turbine For US Waters

New submitter mike2400 writes "According to the Virginian Pilot, the U.S. is closer to having offshore wind turbines. Gamesa, a Spanish manufacturer, has partnered with Newport News Energy, a subsidiary of Newport News Ship Building and Huntington Ingles Industries, to build the first offshore wind turbine in the U.S. It will be located in the Chesapeake Bay off the shore of Cape Charles, VA, which is located on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The prototype 5 MW unit (the article said 5 kW — that's a typo) should be up and running by next year."

Re:How much for how much?

[MDillenbeck]

Dunno - how about asking how much the total life cycle cost of 5MW of wind power vs total life cycle cost of 5MW of coal power? In these costs, include all subsidies or their fractional equivalents. Don't forget the cost of transporting feedstock, the cost of mining the materials for construction of the initial plant, the subsidies included in the fuel to transport the feedstock, and so forth. Shall we get into potential health costs - both to those living near the power generators and those who mine the materials and feedstock? Often I find people exclude a lot from the costs of one source of power (coal) to skew the results. Now, I'm not saying wind power is cheap - but I am saying it is like a comparing an MMO to a stand-alone game... one you have to pay over the lifetime of use, the other you pay mainly up-front costs.

Do I understand ?

[BlueTak]

Reading the article, I understand that there is, just now, no offshore wind turbine near the coast of the US. It's so incredible for us Europeans, who have thousands of them for some years now that I think I have missed something....

Re:Too expensive

[khallow]

Yeah, clearly they should just work like every other industry in America and when they close up shop, dump it on the taxpayers as a Superfund site.

While it might be different now, it's worth remembering that the Superfund program was remarkably shoddy, bureaucratic and should have been unconstitutional as an ex post facto law (it's status as civilian rather than criminal law seems more a dodge to get around that). So naturally, it was more reasonable for companies which had engaged in lawful activities to go bankrupt than deal with many years of Superfund legal nonsense and vast liabilities.

And given that the taxpayers voted for the people who created the Superfund program and wanted the sites cleaned, it makes sense for taxpayers to foot the bill.

Re:How much for how much?

[cbope]

You know... it's amazing that every time alternative energy opportunities come up in the US, there are always people standing in line with 1000 reasons why it CAN'T be done.

With this kind of attitude you will NEVER get weaned off fossil fuels and digging big holes in the ground. You must be able to accept compromises, there is no 100% perfect solution to the world's energy needs. A balanced and layered approach is what will do the job, yet these are all blocked for insane reasons.

Grow a pair, and build out the alternative energy infrastructure you desperately need. You can no longer rely on fossil fuels as your main energy source. You will need nuclear, wind, solar and water power generation to provide your energy. Yes, taken individually, each have their drawbacks. That is why you need a layered approach. Combined, there is no reason why they can't replace fossil fuels.

Stop whining and DO SOMETHING!