Let's see if anyone can pick out where wind might be a viable power source.....

Why does this deepwater scheme remind me of the biblical phrase "reap the whirlWIND".

Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co. tried to come into Hawaii and build an offshore wind farm on Penguin Bank in the middle of a National Marine Whale Sanctuary without informing anyone in Hawaii what they were doing. They also were trying to sell the electricity to Hawaiian Electric Co (HECO) at a flat rate of $0.20/kwh. HECO generates electricity with imported oil for $0.10/kilowatt hour.

Needless to say Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co. was sent packing back to the mainland for trying to desecrate Hawaii’s whale sanctuary, the towers would have been visible from Waikiki Beach and not informing Hawaii what it was trying to do.

However please notice that there are really no raw resources for construction of offshore wind farms in Hawaii. Grays Harbor would have had to fly parts and resources over 2,400 miles or ship by boat or barge to Hawaii taking a week adding to the overall price but still they quoted HECO a flat rate of $0.20/kilowatt hour purchase price.

So why is the cost of offshore wind farms a little over twice the going rate per kilowatt hour and why is it so much more expensive in New England than in other areas of the nation?

NGR Energy purchased Bluewater Wind which is building a 350 MW wind farm off the coast of New Jersey and has a purchase price agreement with Delmarva Power. Delmarva became the first utility in North America to sign a power purchase agreement with an offshore wind farm company. It agreed to buy electricity from Bluewater at 10 cents a kilowatt hour for the next 25 years.

Cape Wind and National Grid have agreed on a purchase price of 20.7 cents per kilowatt hour and increase 3.5% each year.

Deepwater Wind and National Grid agreed on a purchase price of 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour and increase 3.5% each year. This agreement also does not include the cost of the undersea cable and required grid infrastructure up grades.

One difference between OK and Tx vs Me and RI is site cost. West Tx and the Ok panhandle are godforsaken areas and the land is cheap. Tx has its own grid and they are improving it to add wind power collection; RI? Also, they don't have nearly the number of BANANAs that we have in New England. And those folk's activities lead to offshore windfarms at staggering prices. Cost and attitude.

ChuckR,

I don’t think cost of land has anything to do with it because we are talking just about offshore wind farms.

Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power agreed to 10 cents a kilowatt hour for the next 25 years off the coast of New Jersey.

Cape Wind and National Grid have agreed on a purchase price of 20.7 cents per kilowatt hour and increase 3.5% each year.

Deepwater Wind and National Grid agreed on a purchase price of 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour and increase 3.5% each year. This agreement also does not include the cost of the undersea cable and required grid infrastructure up grades.

Why the over 50% difference in cost?

Mind you the purchase proposal in Hawaii between Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co. and Hawaiian Electric Co. was a flat 20 cents per kilowatt hour with extra construction costs to move materials to the islands.

Tommy Cranston,
It could be that you may be reminded of the biblical phrase "Reap the Whirlwind" because you neither understand the bible nor the wind.

Maybe you should be reminded of the phrases from Matthew 25:35-40;

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
Naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

OldTimeLefty

Ken - building on a firm foundation of water is always going to be more expensive than building on land. True even with our outrageously priced and scarce land. That we can't or won't find a land site may be indicative of a)lack of foresight coupled with vigorous opposition or b) lack of the proper combination of wind resource and a decent site for a significantly sized wind farm.

Narragansett Bay is one of the premier sailing areas in the country, but you won't find sailors out early. Mornings are calm and then the wind picks up to a decent pace in the afternoon, only to die at dusk. This is wonderful for sailing but maybe not so hot for power generation. We'll see if its all that different slightly offshore.

Ken - forgot the punchline - could it be that the availability of wind to power the Deepwater turbines is factored into the price required to recover operational and capital cost? Not every place is optimal for wind, unlike the HI site you previously described.