Since my last post I have gained considerable information on Delaware's offshore wind project. One website that I felt offered a great deal of information was a question/answer page on the concerning issues of the project. It posted questions that by Delware residents followed by answers from Willett Kempton, Meredith Blaydee and Philip Whitaker of the University of Delaware and College of Marine and Earth Studies. Some of the questions/answers were as follows:
Why are the turbines not being put on land? Delaware has very few land locations that are windy enough for these turbines. Winds off the Atlantic coast are steadier and stronger.
What happens when the wind turbines eventually wear out? Decommissioning costs are bonded in advance. If something were to happen to say, Bluewater Wind, the money is available to take them down.
Are they reliable? Downtime due to mechanical failure is abut 1%. That is better than fossil power plants.
Can they fail catastrophically? Incidents are rare today. Bluewater Wind judges that DE residents are more at risk from overflying aircraft and buildings during earthquakes.
What are the negatives? Initially it will cost more than current energy supplies.
These were a few of the questions asked by residents. Overall, DE residents are in favor of the project. For more details and other questions/answers go to http://www.ocean.udel.edu/WindPower/DE-Qs/index.html#catastrophically
This site also offers additional websites on the Bluewater Wind project.
I was also surprised to find a video on the MTV website. This was surprising, but in a good way. This says they our society is trying to reach out to a younger crowd about renewable energy sources and our environment. Such a company as MTV is a good place for this since it is a network focused around teens and young adults. This can be found at http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF0098A08300170098DDC8/
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