A new offshore wind study was just recently released by the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Here are some of
its findings. . . Although the United States is a leader in
land-based wind energy generation, it has zero offshore wind
energy generators. The United States has effectively ceded the
offshore wind market to Europe, with over 830 turbines, or 2,300
megawatts, in nine European countries. However, with over 50,000
additional megawatts now under development for 2011, offshore
wind energy is finally starting to gain some traction in the
United States, as well as in China and Canada, too. With roughly
20 projects in the planning and permitting process, the U.S.
will have 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy capacity in
just a few years. One of the biggest impediments to current wind
energy development is the challenge of intermittency. However,
offshore wind energy remedies this shortcoming because of the
strength and consistency of coastal winds. Harder winds can
enhance energy efficiency,