Windmills Generating Lots of Talk in Virginia

 
There’s continued talk about building a wind farm off Virginia’s coast to generate electrical power. This week, the Virginia Offshore Wind Conference brought together lots of key players to further debate the pros and cons in Virginia Beach.

One of the key conference outcomes: it’s a lot more complicated than slapping up windmills out in the ocean.

On the plus side, there is ample, free wind off the coast, a clean, sustainable source of power to turn giant wind turbines and generate up to 11 million megawatt-hours of electricity per year. That’s about 10% of Virginia’s annual electricity consumption, according to the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium.

In addition, the relatively shallow ocean bottom 20 miles out where the best winds are is accommodating for constructing wind towers, and Virginia’s Hampton Roads already is a deep-water port with plenty of industry and infrastructure to support an offshore wind industry.

The flip side: there are a lot of important folks already using these very same coastal waters, from the U.S. Navy, NASA, commercial shipping, and commercial fishing boats. Each has a big stake in the siting of a wind farm in what already are busy shipping lanes, fishing grounds, and military testing areas. Whether and how these different interests could accommodate dozens of giant windmills remains to be seen, although most at the conference seemed optimistic that compromises can be found.

Then there are economic questions about whether wind-generated power can successfully compete with coal and natural gas for investors’ dollars and those of Virginia ratepayers. Virginians already pay some of the nation’s cheapest electricity rates, for example, so why would investors and ratepayers want to switch to a more expensive energy source, especially during difficult economic times?

Others argue that if the environmental, public health, geopolitical, and other social costs of  coal, oil, and other fossil fuels are factored in -- especially the costs to capture greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels -- then wind energy becomes cost competitive, even economically advantageous. 

For a good overview of these issues and discussions at this week’s conference, give a read to this excellent article in the Virginian-Pilot.

What’s your take on moving forward with offshore wind farm development in Virginia? Can wind provide the clean, reliable, cost-effective energy that proponents claim? Or is it an energy source whose time has not yet come, if ever?

Should Virginia instead put its efforts into exploring and developing offshore oil and natural gas? Which one – wind or oil/gas -- is more likely to make Virginia “the energy capital of the East Coast,” as Gov. Bob McDonnell has envisioned?  Which is better for our economy, our environment, and our future?

Chuck Epes
Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Comments

[Toronto T-Shirt Printing]

I personally think it's important to invest in the green energy but there have been some issues in Southern Ontario with it affecting housing prices and health. I hope they do their research and ensure the proper implementation.