2GreenEnergy Intern Louis de Saint Phalle Writes on Offshore Wind

Linked here is another in a series of posts from 2GreenEnergy intern Louis de Saint Phalle, this one on offshore wind energy.  As you read through it, I’d encourage you to write a comment or two, challenging Louis (who’s fluent in five languages–four more than I) on some of this:

• Though offshore wind generally resolves the “Not in My Back Yard” issue, it doesn’t do it completely, as in the Cape Wind project in the US.  Whose rights should be senior here?  And dare we comment on the hypocrisy issue?  Liberal Massachusetts wants renewable energy, but they, especially the moneyed elite from the Southeastern part of the state, don’t want to have to look at it.

• Louis is quite correct that Denmark is leading the way in integrating wind power into their electricity grid, but they have physical and geo-political advantages that we in the U.S. don’t.  They have a population of 1/50th that of the U.S., wind resources coming out their ears, and incredible opportunities to sell off-peak wind to neighboring Germany.  How shall we make sense of these differences?

• Louis writes that the economic future for offshore wind is promising, and, while I grant that this is a possibility, let’s put some numbers there.  The most remarkable thing about my visit to the Energy Ocean conference in Atlantic City earlier this month was the fact that they appear to LOVE offshore wind, though they really brushed off the whole issue of the cost—and, when we think about it, it’s the only one that matters.

Again, my fondest thanks to Louis for his continued and most excellent work on the subject of clean energy and the world’s migration away from fossil fuels.