Current efforts to develop offshore wind power in the US include the 468 MW Cape Wind project, proposed for Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, about 4.7 miles off the shore of Cape Cod. While that project awaits a federal permit, others are being considered off the East Coast. In Delaware, Bluewater Wind signed an agreement to deliver 200 MW of offshore wind power to Delmarva Power, starting around 2012. In Maryland, the Maryland Energy Administration began an initiative to explore development of its offshore wind resources. And in North Carolina, the Duke Energy Corp. and the University of North Carolina/ Chapel Hill, recently announced plans to build three demonstration turbines in eastern Pamlico Sound, 7-10 miles from the Outer Banks. See the Cape Wind Web site; the Delmarva Power press release and the Bluewater Wind Web site; the MEA press release (PDF 69 KB); and the Duke Energy press release.
Efforts are also underway to develop offshore wind in the Great Lakes. Last year, the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University issued an offshore wind report, finding the potential for nearly 322 GW of power production off the state's coast. This September, the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council delivered a report to Governor Jennifer Granholm highlighting 587 square miles of state-owned Great Lakes bottomlands considered "most favorable" for wind development, and highlighting legislative and rule changes needed to encourage the development.
Meanwhile, the Ohio-based Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force issued a feasibility study for an offshore wind facility in Lake Erie, near Cleveland. The report found that a pilot project of up to 20 MW, located 3-5 miles from shore, would be feasible at a cost of $92 million. Case Western Reserve University helped fund the report. See the LPI press release and report (PDF 1.3 MB); the GLWC Web site and report (PDF 1.9 MB); and the CWRU press release and the full report (PDF 14.2 MB).
Japan's Tokai University Solar Car Wins the Global Green Challenge
The "Tokai Challenger" solar car from Japan's Tokai University won the 3,000 kilometer Global Green Challenge race down the center of Australia on October 28. The solar car maintained an average speed of 100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 mph, besting the winner of the previous four races, the Dutch Nuon Solar Team.
The event is an expansion of the World Solar Challenge, a solar vehicle race from Darwin to Adelaide that's held every two years. As the Global Green Challenge, the race now also showcases hybrid, electric, and other alternative energy vehicles. This year's competition ran from October 25-29.
The winning entry was equipped with Sharp multijunction solar cells developed for satellites. According to the manufacturer, the car's solar cells have a combined output of 1.8 kW and a solar conversion efficiency of 30%. The University of Michigan's Infinium car, which finished third, was given the Technical Innovation Award. Among Infinium's technical innovations is a lithium-ion battery pack developed by A123 Systems. Meanwhile, non-solar cars competed in the "Eco Challenge" to demonstrate the levels of efficiency they could achieve on a closed highway. Among the notable achievements: an all-electric Tesla Roadster set a record distance of 313 miles on a single charge. See the Global Green Challenge Web site and press releases, the University of Michigan Solar Car Web site, and the press releases from Sharp and Tesla Motors.
