Out of sight: wind turbines over horizon and out of view

Tag : Water Turbines

Out of sight: wind turbines over horizon and out of view

By Peter Voskamp • Monday, June 30, 2008 12:40 PM EDT
Block Island could be the first community in the United States thatruns on “all renewable power,” Chris Brown, presidentof Deep Water Wind, said this week.

The company, one of seven that answered Gov. DonaldCarcieri’s call to provide bids to create a wind farm offRhode Island, paid a visit to Block Island for the first time lastweek.

Brown, most recently executive vice-president of Detroit Edison,spent a dozen years before that as the manager of Singapore Energy.

Deep Water Wind is the new name for Winergy Power, a New York-basedcompany. As Brown explained, Deep Water is composed of“private equity players with very deep pockets,” withupwards of $80 billion to spend.

While the wind farm undertaking may seem “JulesVerne-esque,” Brown said that the technology exists from theoil and gas industry to set up wind turbines in water of greatdepth. Deep Water would utilize “jacket” towers —essentially platforms like those used for offshore oil and gas rigs— that would be anchored to the bottom.

The company envisions placing the turbines 12 to 15 miles south ofBlock Island with the idea that they would lie just below thehorizon (though that estimate might ring false to island residentswho can see the mainland and the Newport Bridge on a clear day).

Deep Water’s plan calls for a 385-megawatt installation.Depending on what type of technology the company eventuallyutilizes — turbines that provide either 3.6 or 5 megawatts— the entire farm could consist of 77 to 106 turbines.

While the general rule of thumb is that wind energy costs anywherefrom $2 million to $4 million per megawatt, Brown said there arestill too many variables involved to accurately predict what theRhode Island project would cost. Equipment costs, for example, willcertainly change in the minimum of five years he thinks it wouldtake before the project could be in the construction stage.

Location and the attendant water depth and bottom geology stillhave to be determined, Brown said.

Despite high start-up costs, though, Brown said that wind would bean increasingly attractive route for utility providers if carbontaxes are eventually enacted.

He said he has been impressed by Rhode Island’s insistence ongoing it alone “and not waiting for the federalgovernment.” But if the state eventually selects a site infederal waters, the permitting process could drag on for years.

The state expects to select a company by the end of the summer. Reader Comments