Wind Energy Lecture

On Friday February 13 we was a lecture by graduate students from the University of Delaware. Its focus was on wind energy. "Wind of Change: A new energy paradigm with offshore wind power" was the title of the first lecture. It highlighted the reasons we need renewable energy, talked about the wind resource particularly in Delaware, and what states were closest to beginning construction on a wind farm. Currently 85% of our energy comes from fossil fuels- coal, natural gas and oil. If we continue on our current path of using these sources for energy we risk the following: the Greenland ice sheet melting, rise in sea level as well as ocean temperature, and a loss of Diatoms (microscopic organisms that are vital to aquatic food chains). We were shown maps of what the Delmarva peninsula would look like with a rise in sea level. One map had shown small coastal areas of Delaware underwater, but others predicted the eastern shore of Maryland, including Washington College completely underwater. So two solutions were given: We need a combination of necessary approaches and non CO2 sources of energy. The reason why wind farms would be more beneficial out in the ocean and not on land is that the wind flows smoother out in the ocean. Also, Rehoboth was a good place to look at for a wind farm because the further north you go up the Delaware Bay, the average wind speed diminishes. It is also possible, as the presenter pointed out and explained, that wind energy can in fact be stored. I did not write any detail about how each storage plan worked but the three ways are: At a generation site, centralized storage, responsive end use storage. The lecture then shifted to what states we interested in constructing a wind farm. First, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New Jersey were the farthest along. Out of those states, Delaware is the closest to construction. One of the most important factors that makes Delaware one of the most effective plan is that they have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that establishes what the cost will be for customers and that cost will not change. States such as New York, Maryland, and Virginia were talking of wind farm plans but are not as far along as the states mentioned earlier.
It's exciting to know that many states are interested in renewable energy. It is about time that we start trying to reverse the damages we have caused by using fossil fuels for energy. I just hope that these states don't lose momentum on this issue. I feel that as soon as one state, and it looks like Delaware, puts up its wind farm, the rest will be right behind.