Delaware Considers Offshore Wind Farm by 2012

If offshore-wind advocates have their way, scores of 140-foot blades will spin in the ocean breeze nearly a dozen miles away, barely visible to the sunbathers.

Offshore wind has taken a back seat to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the current energy debate.

But those wind-driven turbines will probably be operating long before oil platforms appear off Atlantic Coast states.

Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct an offshore wind farm. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several offshore wind proposals that have cleared significant hurdles in recent months.

Proponents say wind offers more long-term energy independence than offshore oil, reports the Star-Telegram.

Residents along the Eastern seaboard are embracing it as a stable-priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative.

"When people see the price of gas hit $4, they are very open to having discussions about alternatives," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group.

Wind energy today accounts for only 1 percent of the nation’s electricity. A May report from the Energy Department concluded that wind energy could generate 20 percent by 2030, with offshore sources accounting for nearly 20 percent of that. Most projects would be along the Atlantic coast because the seabed floor elsewhere drops off too quickly to anchor turbines.

In Delaware, offshore wind has caught everyone’s imagination, said Patricia Gearity, a member of Citizens for Clean Power, a grassroots organization based in the state.

Offshore-wind supporters say recent proposals have not faced the same kind of opposition that previously dogged projects off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and New York’s Long Island.

But even on Cape Cod, attitudes are changing. Where critics once held a floating anti-wind farm demonstration, polls show that public opinion has swung in favor of an offshore project.

The Long Island project was scrapped last year. But fishermen in neighboring New Jersey who opposed offshore wind power have banded together to submit one of five bids for a 350-megawatt wind farm that would produce enough electricity for up to 100,000 households.

Rhode Island may select a developer this fall for a wind energy project.

Policymakers and utility companies need to commit to long-term contracts, said Firestone, the University of Delaware professor. He pointed out that New Jersey and Rhode Island still do not have buyers for the power from the proposed projects.

There also needs to be more stability in the federal government’s support for wind power, said Laurie Jodziewicz, manager of siting policy at the American Wind Energy Association. When Congress allowed a renewable-energy-tax credit to expire in 2000, 2002 and 2004, wind capacity installation dropped 93 percent, 73 percent and 77 percent, respectively, from the previous year. A current tax credit is set to expire Dec. 31.

Proponents point out that most of the technology hurdles have been cleared, though costs remain high. They look at the almost 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind farms in European waters and say the Cape Cod project and others could jump-start offshore wind energy in the United States.

"This will be a game changer once this project is built," said Hill, the Cape Wind advocate. "We are going to be dancing on Craigsville Beach someday, looking out and seeing the turbines spinning."

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