68 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Power in North Sea = No More Nuclear or Coal: Greenpeace
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 09. 3.08
photo: m.prinke
Norway may be planning on becoming Europe's battery, but based on what Reuters is saying about a new proposal from Greenpeace it won’t just be Norway which supplies Europe with electricity, it will be the North Sea. The head of renewable energy for the European Commission, Hans Van Steen, has called the proposal “ambitious but realistic”.
118 Wind Farms + €20 Billion Electric Grid
There may be no actual plan in place, but the Greenpeace proposal goes like this: Build 118 offshore wind farms by 2030 in the North Sea off the coasts of Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Connect the 68 gigawatts of power these windfarms would produce to the mainland through a grid of power cables on the sea bed, the construction of which could cost €20 billion ($29 billion).
Any variablility in output from these farms could be supplemented by “dispatchable power, such as hydro power in Norway.” Greenpeace claims that by erecting such a network of windfarms it would help nuclear power and coal-fired plants become obsolete.
The Devil’s in the Details
Certainly an ambitious proposal, but as Mr Van Steen also said, I wouldn’t count on wind power entirely replacing nuclear, at least not in the short term. While I like the idea of that much offshore wind power, considering the finacing problems which offshore projects such as the London Array have had to weather, the construction, financial and political details could easily slow such a massive, if eminently necessary and useful, expansion.
via :: Reuters
Wind Power
Norwegian Wind Power Could Become Europe’s Battery
World’s Largest Offshore Windfarm, the London Array, is Back On
Two Small Renewable Energy Firsts: Offshore Wind Power in Germany, Solar Photovoltaic in Greece
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I love the idea of more wind power, and I usually support Greenpeace in its environmental policies. However, has anyone done studies that would tell us the effect that planting the proposed windfarms could have on marine ecology in the region? I assume that constructing the wind turbines will disturb the local fish and marine life during construction, but would they continue to have a long term effect on migration and living patterns? What would digging up the seabed to lay the cable do to the environment that can't be undone? We can't be any less diligent about such consequences to the ocean than we would be about cutting down miles of ancient forest to set up power plants and string power cable.
The North Sea is infamous for its 100 foot waves. How do wind turbines hold up to these? How much extra cost must be put into the design to withstand the force?
Also, I'm not sure that replacing a baseload power source with an intermittent one will really serve as a "replacement". Still, I think offshore wind is a good idea in general, and should be pursued, especially in Europe, which doesn't have great land-based wind resources.
Out of curiosity, has anyone thought about putting a wave / tidal generator on the base of these turbines? It already cost a lot of money to place the footers, run the underwater power lines, etc. It would seem like this would be a perfect place to take advantage of both forms of energy.