NEWARK, Del., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Results of a recent study by the University of Delaware and Stanford University show high potential for wind power produced off the Mid-Atlantic coast.
The research suggests that if 166,720 offshore wind turbines were installed, 330 gigawatts of electricity could be generated, Germany's Innovations Report said.
The power produced by the turbines is more than the 185 gigawatts the region, from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., uses annually.
In the model researchers used, the 262-foot turbines would be spaced about a half a mile apart throughout the 50,000 square mile area. They also were carefully placed, avoiding exclusion zones like shipping lanes, tourist areas, bird migratory paths and chemical disposal sites. Given those conditions, and average wind speeds of 18.3 mph, each turbine could produce 5 megawatts.
However, like all wind, the generation would not be constant or uniform "over a large area like this, the wind blows stronger at some times and places, weaker at other," said Willett Kempton, University of Delaware researcher. So researchers suggested a system to connect the turbines and share power. If there were power lines connecting the turbines, the number of maximum and minimum power peaks would be reduced.
"Today, market forces and incremental technology developments will gradually make offshore wind the least-cost power in more and more East Coast locations," Kempton said. "On the other hand, if climate change becomes a much greater priority for the United States, our study shows how we could displace more than half the carbon dioxide emissions of the Mid-Atlantic area quickly, using existing technology."
