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Which Way Will the Blow? Marine scientists have a key role to play in the debate over wind farms in the coastal ocean

By Porter Hoagland, Research Specialist Two centuries later, Americans are environmental and economic benefits of Marine Policy Center looking to tap coastal again to fuel renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution the modern economy, to reduce air pol- are clear. But there may be side effects lution, and to mitigate global warming. from the placement of modern wind farms A wind came up out of the sea, And said, ‘O mists, make room for me.’ Wind energy is the fastest-growing sec- in the ocean, including the degradation of -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow tor of the global electric power industry, seascapes, impacts on birds and marine and several companies have proposed to animals, and the disruption of existing wo centuries ago, citizens of the new build large wind turbines and utility-scale patterns of human use of the ocean. The TAmerican republic relied on the electric power-generating facilities in the laws and regulations related to the place- winds along their shores as an economic coastal waters of the United States. ment of wind turbines in the ocean are at engine. Salt farms and gristmills dotted Such facilities could change the way best rudimentary and inchoate; at worst, the coastline, their windmills tapping the people use the ocean, and the public is they are non-existent. sea breezes for energy. divided over the costs and benefits. The Marine scientists and engineers can © Elsam A/S Situated 8 to 12 miles (14 to 20 kilometers) off the west coast of Denmark, the Horns Rev wind farm is the world’s largest. The 80 turbines are spread across 7.7 square miles (20 square km), with blades stretching 360 feet (110 meters) into the air. Completed in 2003, the project added 160 megawatts (MW) of power-generating capacity to the country’s electrical grid, and it is expected to produce nearly 2 percent of the nation’s electric power. European nations have plans to add nearly 5,000 MW of production in the coming years, and nearly 50 wind farms have been proposed for U.S. waters.

1 Oceanus Magazine • Vol. 42, No.2 • 2004 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • oceanusmag.whoi.edu make an important contribution to this At least 39 wind-powered gristmills ing public interest in technologies that re- growing public debate by clarifying our were built on Cape Cod in those early years duce pollution and mitigate the impact of understanding of the nature of these side as well. Operated by “dry-land sailors,” the global warming caused by carbon dioxide effects. They might also inform public gristmills provided energy for industry and emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. policies that balance the value of various incidentally served as important naviga- Government policies also have encour- ocean resources with the rights and inter- tional landmarks. The advent of steam aged this development. At the U.S. federal ests of all who wish to use them. power meant the end of the gristmills, level, a tax credit subsidizes the produc- though some were relocated to the proper- tion of electricity from wind power at the Major Freeman’s legacy ties of affluent landowners who admired rate of 1.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). Just after the American Revolution, their beauty and sound construction. Generating facilities powered by wind are Major Nathaniel Freeman of Harwich, Ironically, many coastal property own- also eligible for accelerated capital depre- Massachusetts, suggested using wind en- ers now oppose building modern wind- ciation, making it easier to recoup some of ergy to pump seawater into large vats on- mills. This opposition is one measure of the expenses of building wind farms. shore, where it could evaporate to form salt how Cape Cod and other coastal areas Many states have begun to adopt poli- crystals. As chronicled by historian Wil- have shifted their economic bases from cies requiring utility companies to supply liam Quinn, salt was crucial for preserving farming and natural resource exploitation a proportion of power from renewable fish and furs both for American consumers to tourism and recreation. sources, including wind, hydropower, and and European markets. Spurred by govern- biomass. In addition, many states have ment incentives and federal tariffs on im- Winds of change adopted tax breaks that parallel the federal ports, 1,260 “salt mills” sprouted along the In the past decade, worldwide electric- subsidies. Some have developed research coast of Cape Cod by the 1830s. ity production from wind has grown by and development programs for renewable During their heyday, coastal salt works 30 percent. Several factors have rejuve- energy, financed by so-called “public ben- were so lucrative that they were referred nated interest in wind power. Technologi- efit charges” on consumer electricity bills. to as a “lazy man’s gold mine.” The bottom cal advances in turbine and blade designs With subsidies and the economies of fell out of the business in the mid-19th over the past 20 years have reduced the scale that can be achieved with large tur- century, when it became cheaper to har- cost of producing electricity with wind by bines, wind power can now be produced in vest salt from the more saline springs of as much as 80 percent. At the same time, some areas of the United States for as little Virginia, Kentucky, and upstate New York. governments have responded to the grow- as 3 cents per kWh, making it competitive Courtesy of William Quinn. Engraving by J.W. Barber and S. E. Brown J.W. by Quinn. Engraving William Courtesy of An engraving by J.W. Barber from the 1840s shows the coastline of Provincetown, Massachusetts, dotted with wind-powered salt mills. The artist noted: “The numerous wind or salt mills, and the elevations of sand, give the place a novel appearance.”

2 Oceanus Magazine • Vol. 42, No.2 • 2004 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • oceanusmag.whoi.edu with other energy sources. Land-based, utility-scale wind turbines now operate in 26 states. The U.S. accounts for roughly 16 percent of the world’s wind power gener- ating capacity. Although U.S. capacity is now nearly 6,400 megawatts (MW), wind power supplies less than one percent of current U.S. energy needs.

New proposals on the horizon Utilities in have been generat- ing power from ocean wind for more than a decade, ever since the Vindeby facility off Denmark became operational in 1991. Wind farms are being developed off the coasts of Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, creating 246 MW of power generating capacity—including 160 MW at the Horns Rev wind farm that came online in 2003 along Denmark’s west

coast. An additional 5,000 MW of capacity Quinn William Courtesy of is planned for northern Europe. The Judah Baker gristmill (center) and a salt mill (left) stood near the coast of South Yarmouth, In recent years, proposals have been Massachusetts, in 1866 at the height of a boom in “dry-land .” The wind powered nearly floated—some serious and some ridicu- 1,300 salt- and gristmills along the shores of Cape Cod in the 19th century. The Baker gristmill lous—for as many as 50 wind farms in the has since been moved inland and serves as a tourist attraction. U.S. coastal ocean and Great Lakes. The ocean attracts wind energy companies be- issues surrounding wind farming go well ries that they will spoil seascapes and cause winds tend to be stronger and more beyond navigation. Neither the old law have detrimental effects on birds, marine consistent over open areas, such as large nor the more recently developed public animals, and their habitats. Other groups bodies of water. Also, the “land” for plac- review process appears adequate for mak- have expressed concerns about the poten- ing turbines is cheap because the ocean is ing decisions about the exclusive use of the tial impact on sailors and important com- a public resource and not privately owned. ocean for activities such as wind farming. mercial fisheries. There is little precedence for mod- Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket ern wind farming in the United States, so Running aground on the shoals and Martha’s Vineyard are national tourist there are no provisions for renting areas These vagaries and gaps have spawned havens. Many summer homes have out- of the ocean to wind farmers, as there are an impassioned debate and a public policy standing views of the nearby sounds, where for oil and natural gas producers. The lack quandary. Since 2002, the center of that the sailing is superb, the stripers and blues of a precedent leads to contradictions. For debate has been Nantucket Shoals, off the run thick, and fishing for lobster, scallops, instance, is it sensible for the government southeast coast of Cape Cod. and squid has been a popular livelihood for to subsidize wind power on one hand Successful small-scale wind power ages. If the wind farm is built on Nantuck- while charging a “land rent” on the other? projects on Cuttyhunk, Nantucket, and et Shoals, these views, and quite possibly There are also serious questions about other islands in the 1970s and 1980s in- the established pattern of ocean activities, which agencies, federal and local, have spired interest in placing large wind tur- could be altered permanently. Consequent- the authority to make decisions about this bines and a utility-scale power facility in ly, many Cape Codders and Islanders who resource. The existing federal permitting the coastal waters of New England. The otherwise support the idea of renewable en- process for regulating offshore wind farms current proposal includes 130 wind tur- ergy—just not on Nantucket Shoals—have is loosely based on the Rivers and Harbors bines—each 400 feet tall—to be located become opponents to the wind farmers. Act of 1899, which gives jurisdiction to the 0.3 to 0.5 miles apart within a 25-square U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over any mile area of Nantucket Sound. Need for coastal ocean research “obstructions to navigation.” While navi- Public opposition to wind farms in Why not put wind farms far out in the gational issues for ships are important, the nearshore waters is based mainly on wor- ocean, beyond the sight of land, where

3 Oceanus Magazine • Vol. 42, No.2 • 2004 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • oceanusmag.whoi.edu winds are even stronger? After all, if wind in a good position to help clarify and re- farms are developed in more remote sites, solve these issues, and research is needed the potential for public opposition should in several key areas: dwindle significantly and the wind re- • Ocean physics—What is the nature of source would grow. (In fact, civil engineer- wind and wave patterns and current flows ing professor William Heronemus of the (particularly during extreme storm events) University of Massachusetts suggested in around each proposed wind farm site? 1972 that it was feasible to construct an How does the seafloor change over time, array of floating “wind stations” as far off- as a consequence of both flowing currents shore as Georges Bank.) and seismic events? What is the likelihood As with most environmental problems, of ice formation and movement through a

this potential solution entails tradeoffs. wind farm area? © Elsam A/S Wind energy developers would prefer to • Environmental impact—How would Recent advances in the design of wind place wind turbines in shallow, protected wind turbines affect songbirds that mi- turbines, as well as government incentives, waters that are close to existing electrical grate through these regions or seabirds have made the cost of wind power transmission lines. These criteria limit the that frequent them as productive habitat? production comparable to other forms of number of good locations for ocean wind How do these structures affect marine energy. But calculating their true power- farms. Business models suggest that deep- ecological processes or important com- generating impact is tricky. Wind farms often water sites are less profitable, but the true mercial fisheries? What is the impact of cite total capacity, but average production is costs and benefits of building wind farms turbine noise on protected species, includ- typically 70 percent lower because winds do in deep water are not yet understood. ing whales, dolphins, and seals? not always blow at optimal strength. Given the uncertainties surrounding • Marine policy—How do we design a wind energy as a new use of the ocean, system of access that balances the needs Prospects a number of research questions have of ocean wind developers against the legal Some environmentalists believe that emerged. What are the effects of the ocean interests of people and businesses already the production of energy from both environment on wind turbines placed in benefiting from these areas? What can we ocean- and land-based wind farms has the the ocean? What are the effects of wind learn from the existing models of planning potential to satisfy the global demand not turbines on the ecosystem? And what are for use of the ocean and public lands? only for electricity, but also for all forms the features of a public policy that could All of these research efforts must be of energy. Realizing such a vision would make the tradeoffs easier to understand, undertaken with an awareness of the eco- require many thousands of large wind leading to more rational and balanced de- nomics of ocean wind power because the turbines, as well as the development of cisions about human uses? answers to these questions will affect the technologies to store the energy (such as Marine scientists and policy experts are engineering design of offshore structures. the production of hydrogen as a fuel). It would also require a process for locating U.S. Electric Energy Generation by Source (2003) wind turbines in the coastal ocean that balances the benefits with the costs. Generation Generation Cost Type When faced with a new activity that (billion kWh/yr) (% of Total) (¢/kWh) might change the way we use the ocean Coal 1,928 51 <1-6 environment, the public is often ambiva- Nuclear 781 21 <1-15 lent. Today we are faced with a split be- Natural gas 648 17 2-6 tween those who favor renewable energy Hydropower 296 8 1-6 through offshore wind farms and those Biomass 34 1 7-10 who decry the potential degradation of the Oil 31 1 1-3 seascape. As new information is discov- Wind 17 <1 3-6 ered and learning occurs, societal prefer- Geothermal 14 <1 2-8 ences about the mix of appropriate uses of Solar 1 <1 25-30 the coastal ocean undoubtedly will shift. At the same time, science may uncover TOTAL 3,750 100 new options and opportunities, perhaps revealing the true potential for wind farms Sources: U.S. Department of Energy; California Energy Commission in the coastal ocean.

4 Oceanus Magazine • Vol. 42, No.2 • 2004 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution • oceanusmag.whoi.edu