Wind power “could provide total US electricity needs”

Federal renewables rules look set to drive fresh surge in wind power on- and offshore

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is decidedly bullish about the potential for wind power. His department’s latest assessment of the scope for oil, gas and renewables on the outer continental shelf reckons the potential in the wind off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is more than enough to meet the whole country’s current electricity demand.

Granted, that would involve installing turbines in some of the more expensive and problematic deeper water sites. But even just exploiting relatively shallow waters would enable most coastal states to satisfy a fifth of their total power needs from turbines, the study says.

The US leapfrogged Germany to the top of the world wind league table last year, when it added 50% to its installed wind power capacity. Early 2009 has maintained that phenomenal growth, but with credit in short supply and depressed prices for gas making it harder to compete on costs, the rest of this year is set to be a lot quieter on the US wind front.

The American Wind Energy Association is hinging its hopes on the Government to help it achieve this enormous potential – partly through stimulus spending, but more crucially through the sort of federal action that would send investors a long-term signal about rising demand. The association is looking for rapid progress on President Obama’s campaign pledge to get 25% of US energy from renewables by 2025.

Obama envisaged this target as a new federal Renewable Energy Standard (RES), including interim requirements for the utilities to source a rising percentage of power year on year from renewables. It would replace the piecemeal green power procurement rules already set in 28 of the 50 states. The Administration has welcomed the proposals for wider carbon-cutting legislation, including a federal RES, that have now narrowly been passed by the House of Representatives as the draft American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Its passage through Congress will be keenly watched – not least by offshore wind developers. The front-runner in this young sector is the locally controversial 420MW Cape Wind scheme off Massachusetts, near Martha’s Vineyard. Despite opponents objecting to visual and other impacts, it received its ‘super permit’ from the state authorities in May, and could be operational by 2012-2013 if construction begins early next year. – Roger East