A Seattle energy company has received initial regulatory approval to install a wind farm consisting of five 6 MW machines 16 miles off the Oregon coast.
The pilot project off Coos Bay would be the first offshore wind facility on the West Coast of the USA. It would also be the biggest demonstration of technology to date that places floating turbines on platforms in deep water, according to Principle Power, the developer.
The turbines would be as high as a 60-story building, and able to tap strong ocean winds that blow consistently in southern Oregon, said Kevin Banister, Principle's vice president for business and government affairs.
Each turbine would be supported on three floating platforms moored by cables anchored to the sea floor about 140 feet below the surface. The electricity would be transmitted to shore via underwater cable.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, part of the Interior Department, has given approval for the company to submit a formal plan for building the 30 MW project. Principle Power would lease 15 square miles of ocean away from shipping lanes and at a distance that would render the WTGs barely visible from the coast.
The venture will cost about $200 million and is expected to be operational by 2017. It has received $4 million in Energy Department funding as an advanced demonstration project. Principle hopes to reach a power purchase agreement with Oregon utilities.
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that the West Coast has 800 GW of wind energy potential, equal to more than threequarters of the nation's entire power generation capacity. Principle's research has determined that southern Oregon and Northern California have some of the strongest and most consistent winds, along with parts of Southern California.
The company's studies indicate that the turbines will have a capacity factor of about 40%, significantly above the 20% to low 30% that is typical on land-based California wind farms. However the economic feasibility of generating power offshore still needs to be determined. Only three wind turbines operate on floating platforms, including a research rig located off Portugal built by Principle. But the unit, which has endured 50 foot waves and continued to perform in those conditions has given the company confidence that it can engineer floating platforms that will remain stable in major storms.
Photo credit: Principle Power
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