Offshore Wind Energy:Offshore Wind Energy:Status, Issues, & Status, Issues, &

Comparisons With U.S. Comparisons With U.S. OnOn--Land Development Land Development

Potential in Coastal AreasPotential in Coastal Areas

Bruce BaileyAWS Truewind LLC

Albany, NYbbailey@awstruewind.com Stanford University, April 26, 2004

Over half the population lives in coastal counties

24% of nation’s

electric load

6% of nation’s

electric load

7% of nation’s

electric load

State Incentives

http://www.dsireusa.org

Public Benefit Funds

Renewables Portfolio Standards

Can enough wind be built on land in the Northeast?

Why Go Offshore?• No windy lands near

many load centers • Transmission

barriers on land for long distances

• Strong winds reside offshore; good load matching too

• Offshore wind can help satisfy RPS and SBC initiatives and still be cost-competitive with other renewables

Offshore Components• Tower heights >200 ft (60 m)

• Turbines rated 2 -5 MW

• Spaced 1/3 to ½ mile apart

• Rotor diameters 250-350 ft

• Foundations• Substation &

marine cable • Port facilities

Nysted Project, Denmark

Key Design/Siting Factors

• Water Depth• Extreme

Wind/Waves• Seabottom

Geology• Distance to

Transmission• Installation

Equipment

Why Europe is Pursuing Offshore Wind

Strong, aggressive government policies promoting green energyShrinking opportunities on landWidespread acceptance/ familiarity with land-based wind projectsShallow waters well offshore

160 MW Horns Rev

Project, Denmark

U.S. in Contrast

• Only two serious pending projects

• Independent pioneers

• Almost no wind projects on nearby land

• Fickle renewable energy support

Cape Wind Associates

Long Island Power Authority

Land vs Offshore Potential In Coastal Areas

• Compare amount of windy areas in coastal states and offshore

• Assume higher threshold wind resource for offshore projects

• Assume maximum water depths for offshore projects in near-term

• Contrast public with private lands

New England Wind Power Class Map

• Commercial Land Wind Projects Require Class 4+ Wind Class

• Offshore Wind Projects Require Class 5+ Due to Higher Construction Costs

New England Water Depths

• Most Offshore Projects Have Been Built in Waters <50 ft Deep

• Some New Offshore Projects Are In Waters Up to 75 ft Deep

• Deep-Water Foundation Designs Are Under Development

New England Windy Areas

• Windy Lands (Class 4+) With and WithoutParks/Govt. Forests

• 28% of windy lands are in parks/govt. forests

• Windy Waters (Class 5+) with depths <70 ft

• 40% of windy waters beyond 3-mile limit

Mid-Atlantic Wind Power Class Map

• Commercial Land Wind Projects Require Class 4+ Wind Class

• Offshore Wind Projects Require Class 5+ Due to Higher Construction Costs

Mid-Atlantic Water Depths

• Most Offshore Projects Have Been Built in Waters <50 ft Deep

• Some New Offshore Projects Are In Waters Up to 75 ft Deep

• Deep-Water Foundation Designs Are Under Development

Mid-Atlantic Windy Areas

• Windy Lands (Class 4+) With and WithoutParks/Govt. Forests

• 42% of windy lands are in parks/govt. forests

• Windy Waters (Class 5+) with depths <70 ft

• 80% of windy waters beyond 3-mile limit

West Coast – Wind Power Class

West Coast – Water Depths

West Coast – Windy Areas

75% of windy lands in parks/govt. forests

Available Windy Area

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

N.Engl Mid-Atl Calif Pac.NW

LandOffshore

Squa

re K

ilom

eter

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*Class 4+ on Land; Class 5+ Offshore and Water Depths <70 ft; No land use exclusions

Economics of Offshore

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1990

CO

E (¢

/kW

h [c

onst

ant 2

000

$])

Low speed land sites

1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

High speed land sites

Offshore sites

?

Bulk Power Competitive Price

Band

Source: Dept. of Energy

COE for other RenewablesLandfill Gas: 3¢ – 8¢/kWhBiomass: 5¢ – 9¢Photovoltaics: 17¢ – 25¢Geothermal: 4¢ – 8¢

Offshore Wind Matches Peak Load Profiles

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7000

8000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Hour

Coas

tal U

tility

Loa

d (M

W)

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

Pla

nt C

apac

ity F

acto

r (%

)

LoadCapacity Factor

Typical Peak Load Day, Coastal New Jersey, 1999-2003

Typical summer peak day afternoon capacity factor for

offshore NJ wind plant >50%

Conclusions

• East coast has large energy appetite but relatively little windy land

• Offshore offers large wind development opportunities, for many eastern states

• Offshore can be cost-competitive with other renewables and can help wind fulfill RPS and SBC initiatives

• West coast has strong offshore wind resources but very deep water; offshore deep water foundations not yet available

Conclusions

• Many barriers to overcome• Need for more public familiarity with wind

power, particularly in eastern US• Include offshore wind in the visions of

state and federal energy policies• Earmark R&D funds to address offshore

engineering & development issues• Learn from European experiences and

support international collaboration

Thank You!

Questions?

Samsø Project, Denmark