Utility identifies potential for offshore wind turbines

ATLANTA, Georgia, USA, August 1, 2007. A two-year study has identified potentially favourable conditions for wind generation off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia.

Southern Company and the Georgia Institute of Technology examined a variety of factors and recommended that Southern Company continue to pursue the potential development of wind energy resources in coastal waters, although high costs and regulatory issues still need to be resolved.

“We continue to believe that renewable energy resources, including wind, need to be a part of our energy supply portfolio,” says executive vice president Leonard Haynes. “We will continue to pursue this and other renewable energy options that allow us to provide reliable and affordable electricity to our customers.”

“We believe that given the available wind resources and the extent of the shallow water continental shelf, there is considerable ultimate potential for wind power generation off the coast of Georgia,” adds Sam Shelton of the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech. “While the 20 year levelized cost of wind power is higher than current production from existing power plants, offshore wind power may become a viable option for green power generation.”

The high costs are due to the additional case-hardened cabling that would be required to locate the stations sufficiently offshore to minimise their appearance from land and to take advantage of greater wind speeds. Another significant issue is the additional cost of construction and maintenance of a facility in the ocean.

The Department of Interior Minerals Management Service has jurisdiction over energy projects on the outer continental shelf, including wind power. The federal department is currently outlining permitting requirements, which should be completed in late 2008 and until the regulations are finalised, only limited activities to develop an offshore windfarm in federal waters may be conducted.

Though the southeast coast of the United States does not have sufficient wind speeds to effectively support generation from wind, the conditions are better starting 8 km off the coast of Georgia, the study concludes.

Launched in 2005, the joint study examined a variety of factors including wind resources, technology, siting, environmental, weather conditions, permitting and economics. Wind speeds average 16 to 17 mph.

Among other key findings, the water in the area is relatively shallow, which could make it easier to establish the foundations of a wind farm. Also, the study said, existing electrical substations on Jekyll Island and Tybee Island are the two locations with the best potential for connecting power from an offshore wind farm to the transmission grid. Of the two locations, Tybee Island was better suited because the turbines would be less visible from the beach, the wind resource is slightly better and it is closer to industrial and maintenance resources.

Southern Company is involved in a variety of green power projects, including research into the use of biomass switchgrass and wood chips to produce energy. With 4.3 million customers and 42,000 MW of generating capacity, it owns electric utilities in four states.

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