Denmark has 380 MW of offshore wind capacity—the most in the world. So it should come as no surprise that a Danish company, DONG Energy, is deeply involved in offshore wind project development both at home and in the UK. The company’s projects include construction of the 166-MW Nysted Offshore Wind Farm, located in the Baltic Sea offshore of Denmark, where 72 turbines generate 166 MW in what is the largest offshore wind farm in the world. DONG has several other projects under development, but its latest entry into the market is the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm, which first produced power on July 21 and was commissioned on October 18 (Figure 1).
1. First choice. DONG Energy was first to deploy the Siemens Power Generation 3.6-MW offshore wind turbine, shown here at the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm. Courtesy: Siemens Power Generation
The success of this and other offshore wind projects is nothing to take for granted, as the U.S. experience demonstrates.
Wasted vs. achieved potential
The U.S. may have assumed the lead position on the world’s list of installed wind capacity, but we have zilch in the burgeoning offshore market. The University of Delaware recently completed a study that concluded U.S. offshore wind resources from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cape Hatteras, N.Y., could be as high as 330 GW—enough to satisfy all the electricity needs of the nine Mid-Atlantic states with plenty to spare.
Several U.S. projects along the East and Gulf coasts have some momentum, but recent history has shown that much more than location is required to site an offshore wind park. Witness the political and regulatory hurdles still facing Cape Wind, a proposed project off Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. Parochial interests led by Senator Ted Kennedy (D) have delayed that 420-MW project at every turn. Down the coast, Long Island Power Authority’s Offshore Wind Park, sited along Long Island’s south shore, was cancelled in August because initial cost estimates for the 140-MW project had doubled since the project was announced in early 2005.
The UK also has huge offshore wind potential: Estimates run as high as three times the island’s current power demand. The difference is that the UK has summoned the political will and public support to vigorously pursue its renewable obligations goal of 15% generation from renewables by 2015. The European Union (EU) took that number a step further in its March vote to increase its legally binding target to 20% by 2020. That’s not out of line with the renewable portfolio standards adopted by many American states. The EU countries, and especially the UK, are single-minded in their pursuit of windpower to meet their commitments, and that resolve has attracted developers and billions of dollars in investment.
The UK started small by approving several successful offshore projects limited to 30 turbines. Developers then pushed for lifting the limit on turbines and eagerly anticipated deploying the new, larger wind turbines on future projects. Offshore leases are granted by the Crown Office, which “owns” the offshore up to a 12-mile limit. Once a lease is won in a competitive bid, the developer then must obtain a series of other permits from the same government that is committed to offshore wind power. Disputes tend to be with the local citizenry, over where power cables come ashore and interconnect with a substation.
The second round of Crown Office offshore licenses came with no size limit. London Array, billed as the world’s largest offshore wind farm, just received a green light from the British Government. This 90-square-mile wind farm located off the southeast coast of England is being developed by a consortium of Shell WindEnergy, E.On, and DONG Energy. Their plan is to install about 340 turbines cranking out 1,000 MW—about a quarter of London’s electricity demand. The project is scheduled for completion by 2011—just in time for the London Olympics.
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