A Good Case for Offshore Wind Farms

A testing field for offshore wind turbines may be in the future for Virginia. Such a demonstration center could pave the way toward making the state a leader in the production of electricity from wind, an infinitely renewable energy resource.

Reports about the demonstration center also come at a time when the nation is still reeling from the effects of the British Petroleum oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Any move toward wind energy could lessen the demand for oil — whether is comes from overseas or off U.S. shores.

The state made a pitch to the U.S. Department of Energy last week to develop a $60 million to $80 million demonstration center where wind turbines would undergo engineering and operational tests. The proposed location is in the Hampton Roads area. The project, as The Associated Press reported, would place fixed offshore wind turbines in three locations ranging from shallow to intermediate depth waters.

Supporting the project is a consortium promoting offshore wind energy that has found that Virginia has “a strong potential with Class 6 winds, water depths under 30 meters, and ready access to the high-voltage electric transmission grid.”

George Hagerman, director of offshore wind research for what is known as the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, said that Hampton Roads “is uniquely set up to create a staged series of test pads, starting with relatively benign conditions and close access to industry, then moving into truly oceanic waters.”

The project would assess how fixed wind turbines would withstand tropical storms, their impact on birds in the busy Atlantic flyway and their compatibility with the large military presence in the Hampton Roads area.

The military’s presence bodes well for the ultimate establishment of a wind farm off the Virginia coast. The military is seeking to achieve by 2025 a goal of using 25 percent renewable energy. An even more ambitious plan has been launched by the Navy to achieve 50 percent renewable energy by 2020 for its land-based operations.

Hagerman suggested that the demonstration would be an important part of attracting investors to the costly energy source, which has a long regulatory process. “Before you put 100, 150 turbines out there, you would really want to know that that turbine can survive and produce the way you expect it will.”

While the state is pursuing the offshore wind farm project, construction of the state’s first commercial wind farm continues in Highland County. The first 400-foot tall windmill will soon be visible atop Allegheny Mountain. Plans call for 19 turbines that will produce enough electricity to power 12,000 homes.

Opponents of the project have forced developer Tal McBride into sticking with the wind farm proposal for 10 years — a period he said is way too long for an alternative source that is well-established in other states. “Things are out of balance,” he said. “It shouldn’t take 10 years to permit and build a wind farm.”

He makes a good point. Opponents deserve to be heard, but not to the point where they are simply dragging out a foregone conclusion.
Virginia is making a good case to the federal government for a wind project that would test turbines in a variety of settings. It could be a good step toward the production of electricity from wind power.

It could also be a better substitute for the now suspect drilling of oil and natural gas off the Virginia coast line.