Oceana Study Evaluates East Coast Wind Power Potential
The environmental group Oceana recently sponsored a study comparing wind energy to oil and gas. Current technology does not allow wind energy to replace gasoline, but senior campaign director of Oceana, Jacqueline Savitz believes, “If we start thinking now about how we get there, we could electrify the fleet. Maybe it’s in five years, maybe it’s 10.”
Oceana argues that accidents like the Deepwater Horizon disaster could be reduced, and coal consumption cut if wind turbines replaced drilling rigs along the Atlantic Coast. Pollution from coal eventually lands in the ocean, raising water temperatures and acidity levels while creating additional problems for ocean life.
A sizeable majority of homes heated with oil are located on the East Coast. Study co-author Simon Mahan admitted that the authors “did have to make some assumptions” about replacing oil and gas with energy generated by wind. One assumption was that the electricity would be created on a scale large enough to use for home heating along the East Coast, and could be used to replace natural gas as well as oil.
Pricing of electricity and currently used fuels remains a determining factor for implementing wind-generated electricity. The study estimated that homes converted from traditional fuels to electricity would consume approximately the same amount of electricity as homes currently relying on electric heat.
An Energy Department survey from 2005, which was the basis for the analysis, found that homes using gas or oil consumed far more energy than those heating with electricity. However, the data was based on a survey of only 4,300 households, an inadequate sample size for determining why less energy was being used in the electricity-heated households than those using gas and oil. Energy Department analyst Chip Berry surmised that the large homes heated with electricity were mainly in the South, where lower amounts of energy are needed.
The reality is, at current rates of 13 cents a kilowatt-hour, electricity sells for about twice the price of natural gas. Electricity prices from offshore wind turbines are uncertain, leaving regulators in Massachusetts and Rhode Island agonizing over the cost-competitiveness of wind energy.
Politically speaking, offshore wind is very popular. Delaware’s Democratic Senator Thomas R. Carper said, “The development of offshore wind means reliable energy, good-paying American jobs and independence from fuels that pollute our air and drain our economy.” Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, added, “This report lays to rest any debate about the benefits of offshore wind.” Menendez believes it can create more jobs and cut the risk of “devastating our shorelines with an accident.”
Oceana’s study evaluated potential energy production from waters 30 meters deep or less, shallow enough to support turbines. Wind turbines would be built outside of shipping channels and would be located between 3 and 24 miles off of the coast. The possibilities of wind energy production are enormous, with estimates around 127 gigawatts of power. In comparison, the combined production of all types of generators in the United States is about 1,048 gigawatts.