June 1, 2009

Gone with the Wind

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, Editor-in-Chief

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, speaking in Atlantic City on April 6, added more hot air to the discussion about offshore wind when he stated that windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, of the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. I’m disappointed Salazar didn’t take a few minutes for fact-checking and back-of-the-envelope ciphering before his speech.

Developing New Policy

Salazar was speaking at the first of four hearings scheduled around the country to discuss resource planning and what role our nation’s offshore energy resources — specifically natural gas, oil, and wind — will play in future energy legislation contemplated by the Obama administration. During his presentation, Salazar said, "With respect to renewable energy, there is tremendous potential concerning wind off the Atlantic." He added, "there is over 1,000 GW of power or 1,000,000 MW of power developable off the Atlantic coast" that is "the equivalent of energy produced from 3,000 medium-sized coal-fired power plants."

Part of me believes that Salazar really doesn’t expect that wind power parks along the eastern shore are "developable" to the degree he described, but that his statements were meant to engage the audience to consider the possibilities of offshore wind. The other part of me is very concerned that many listeners will selectively hear only the punch line: The developable potential for wind turbines off the east coast is equivalent to 3,000 mid-size coal-fired power plants, so therefore wind turbines off the Atlantic coast can replace all of our coal plants. I hope future energy policy will be more circumspect.

First, let’s clear up a misconception that could be created by Salazar’s statement. The U.S. does not have 3,000 coal plants. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) website, which provides the best data available, shows that at the end of 2007 (the last year for which data are available) there were 1,470 coal-fired plants in the U.S. with a nameplate capacity of 336 GW. Also, coal-fired plants account for 30.9% the nation’s total power resources with a net summer capability of 995 GW. More importantly, coal fired over 48.5% of the total generated electricity that year, as it continues to do today.