FEB 12

There are numerous benefits to building wind offshore. Winds are high, there isn’t much in the way, and it can be relatively close to where people live (compared to, say, wind farms in the Midwest). You have room to spread out, build lots of turbines, and scale up to hundreds, if not thousands, of megawatts.

But one thing is for sure – building a wind turbine in the ocean is trickier than building one on land. As much of the construction as possible is done on land, and the parts are then brought to the site by ship and installed at sea. Seeing as wind turbines can weigh 1,000 tons or more, it’s a pretty big job to construct and secure them on land – and an even bigger job to do so on a ship that is constantly bobbing up and down with the waves.

Fortunately, there is an industry out there that is quite familiar with building big, sturdy things in the ocean – the oil industry! And that’s why SeaEnergy Renewables is planning on building their offshore turbines on oil rigs. In fact, the founding members of SeaEnergy are former oil industry people themselves.

These rigs offer numerous benefits to wind applications. They can be build farther offshore – up to depths of 39 meters – than a straight up offshore turbine, which would otherwise be limited to 20 meters. That means that it’s harder to see the turbines from shore, which means fewer NIMBY-realted delays (think Cape Wind in Boston). They are also sturdier; it’s the difference between mounting something really heavy on a pole and mounting it on four legs. Finally, it uses less steel, which makes it cheaper, especially since steel prices are steadily on the rise.

SeaEnergy plans on using the windy coast of Scotland to build enough turbines to generate 1 GW in five years and 3-5 GW in the long term. They have already demonstrated the rig technique by building two 5.5 MW turbines, which have already been operating for a few years.

This is exactly why big, fossil-fuel driven companies should be (and in many cases, are) embracing renewables such as wind. Even if a startup company came up with the idea to mount wind turbines on oil rigs, they would have a pretty hard time coming up with the resources – both in terms of material and expertise – to make that happen quickly. But an oil company already has all those things in place. They could build the machines quicker, and start seeing profit sooner.

Big energy companies have so many talented engineers, so much heavy equipment, so much political clout and experience and (of course) so much capital, that they are well equipped to make wind turbines – not to mention solar farms or biofuel refineries - start sprouting up like daisies. So maybe they will take a page out of SeaEnergy’s book.

Via Greentech Media
Images via SeaEnergy

Comments (11)

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written by Eric, February 12, 2009

I'm pretty sure traditional monopile wind turbines can reach depths of more than just 20m. I remember doing research a few years ago saying that they can typically go out to depths of 60-75m.

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written by MD, February 12, 2009

Metal Prices rising?

I'd like to see that in a chart... sure they were rising, but last I saw they were declining...

http://www.metalprices.com/#tables

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written by Sherry, February 12, 2009

What a great idea! There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources. Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. The cost of fuel effects every facet of consumer goods from production to shipping costs. After a brief reprieve gas is inching back up. OPEC will continue to cut production until they achieve their desired 80-100. per barrel. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. There is a really good new book out by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now.

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@MD
written by Loosely_coupled, February 13, 2009

Obviously he is referring to the longer-term steel prices as demand picks up again after the recession.. Particularly with Asia projected to continue undergoing a massive construction boom over the decade...

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Love the idea
written by Chris, February 13, 2009

3-5 GW is a lot of energy - quite an amazing project!

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Isn't this a bit like 'Clean Coal'?
written by Robin Green, February 13, 2009

It's great that we can reuse existing oil rigs to install large scale wind turbines. But might this not be a partnership with the devil? By sharing the amortization of a rig between the oil energy and the wind energy produced, this could wind up making more marginal oil extraction more cost effective, or lower the cost of oil overall. Not a good thing for cutting back on GHG emissions. It could also lead to more greenwashing by companies like Chevron and BP, which devote loads of advertising dollars to convincing you that they're all about green energy.

Isn't there a way to use the knowledge and technology behind oil rigs independently of them? Maybe governments could offer incentives for oil rigs that CONVERT to wind generator platforms...

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Cool idea
written by Ruth, February 14, 2009

I think it's great to see alternatives being pursued, and let's face it, something will have to be done with all those oil rigs when there's no oil left for them to produce. It's a good example of thinking along the lines of other practical recommendations such as those put forward by the experts in Agenda for a Sustainable America.

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written by On the Money, February 15, 2009

The NIMBY factor is a pain - especially as the generators off the coast of Skegness (UK) are actually now a tourist attraction ... !

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Great Idea
written by Peter McEvoy, February 16, 2009

What a great idea! Even if they can't build a ton of them this way, it is good way to show renewable energy taking over fossil fuels!

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Wind energy in Pakistan
written by UNDP-GEF WEP, February 23, 2009

Wind energy has been regarded as one of the most promising forms of renewable energy to be utilized for electric power generated for current and future needs. Historically wind energy has been harnessed for a vast number of human needs for approximately 5500 years. As a ‘futuristic green source of energy’, wind energy is now being harnessed at a growing rate globally, as we face a dramatic change in our environment.

In view of the above, The United Nations Development Program - UNDP has initiated the project "Sustainable Development of Commercial Scale Wind Power Generation Project” referred simply to as the Wind Energy Project (WEP). This project has been undertaken as an effort to curb the current global environmental crisis being faced in light of heavy emissions of green house gases to fuel a growing population. The project is focused on both developed and developing countries, and is in Phase I of its implementation in Pakistan. The project is being undertaken in association with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the Alternative Energy Development Board
(AEDB).

Please visit our website www.wep.org.pk for a detailed analysis into the implementation of wind energy in Pakistan based the UNDP directive, including specific and thorough investigations into wind energy, wind resource assessment, key financial instruments for tariff refinement, detailed EIA and EA guidelines with reference to potential windy sites in Pakistan, and a list of informative websites on wind energy. Also, please sign our guestbook http://wep-guestbook.org/guestbook/ and leave your comments.

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Costly Idea
written by Eddie, February 26, 2009

I have worked in Generating for 25 years, wind energy cost so much to generate. If it wasnt for the cost it would be a great source. Natural Gas is the only way. It has low emissions and Dollar for Dollar it is the only way to go. We in the US have a abundance of it.

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