One of the biggest complaints of offshore wind farms is the eye-sore factor. Apparently residents would prefer a giant coal-fired power plant polluting the planet from far away to a clean source of energy they actually have to look at. This is the essence of the NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard") whine.
But NIMBYist whinging is shrill, and for the residents of Nantucket Sound, powerful. Their opposition to the construction of an offshore fleet of wind turbines, part of the Cape Wind project, was enough to delay the project for years.
Enter the Windfloat.
Windfloat is an ocean-based floating wind turbine designed by the California company Marine Innovation & Technology. The turbine sits atop a 3-legged floating foundation that is based on the designs of offshore gas and oil platforms.
Due to the bulky structure of current coastal wind turbines, the structures are anchored in the seabed – limiting their positioning to shallow water depths ranging between 98 to 164 feet.
This new design, however, proves that a turbine’s size and weight need not be compromised for distance from shore. Researchers suspect that the Windfloat foundation can support a 5 megawatt turbine with a height of around 230 feet.
Situated 10-12 miles out at sea, Windfloat offers, “access to superior wind resources further offshore,” all the while eliminating the visual and noise impacts of the machines, according to a study in the recent issue of the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
The team already tested a miniature version in a water tank, in addition to running model simulations. The engineers intend on building a full-scale prototype by summer 2012.
Unfortunately for the communities surrounding the Cape Wind project, a backyard turbine farm is likely going to happen despite their protests -- the U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave the thumbs up for starting construction this past spring.
But regions that are just starting to investigate offshore wind farms, such as the state of New Jersey, may actually benefit from Windfloat.
Tags: Conservation, Engineering, Geophysics, Renewable Energy, Wind
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