It is not like the United States has ignored its considerable capacity for harvesting energy from the wind.
Sure, countries such as Denmark, Germany, China, India and Spain have taken great strides, installing turbines at a rapid clip. But so too has the U.S.
New York State has unveiled efforts to build large wind farms in Lake Erie
America now has 31,000 MW of wind power generation, enough to light up 9 million homes. This year it has added 5,800 MW despite the recession, with states like Oregon, Illinois and Colorado showing big gains. (Texas, Iowa and California are still the big three.)
Now a new push behind East Coast wind could considerably expand its role in the country’s energy mix and for the first time bringing the right edge of the country to the party.
On Tuesday, the New York Power Authority began seeking proposals for a massive offshore wind farm(s) in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. The wind farm(s) could be the first in a body of freshwater and produce from 120 MW to 500 MW of electricity. Proposals are due by June 2010 and commercial operation is targeted for 2015.
Only several weeks earlier, the governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware unveiled a tri-state partnership to develop wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean. They agreed to find a common way to bring that energy to shore.
The efforts show that the East Coast is not sitting idly or resigning itself to the belief that wind only makes sense where it blows strongest and steadiest – in the West Texas and New Mexico.
There is substantial offshore wind along the East Coast from Maine to South Carolina, says Dan Reicher, director of climate and energy initiatives at Google. Developers can build far enough offshore so that their turbines aren’t seen and still plant their towers in relatively shallow water, he said.
The Great Lakes also have steady breezes ripe for turning generators.
“There are great wind resources” to be harnessed in the U.S., says Reicher.
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LEDs already are a fast growing segment, says Birnbaum. The bright pictures and micro-thin designs are a powerful draws.