What is it?
Offshore wind farms are groups of wind turbines built in federal waters, five to fifteen miles from shore, which use wind to generate clean energy. Wind farms are particularly advantageous because wind produces the most energy during morning and daytime hours, when electricity demands are highest.
Deepwater Wind in Rhode Island is the first company to successfully break ground on building offshore wind in the United States. Their turbines are roughly 600 ft. tall and located three miles off Block Island, a total of twelve miles off the mainland. These wind turbines will produce clean energy without creating pollution to our air or water.
Read more about the US’ first offshore wind farm!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/27/a-milestone-for-wind-energy-work-underway-on-first-offshore-platforms-in-u-s-waters/
Good for Everyone:
The US Department of Energy estimates 43,000 new jobs will be created in the offshore wind market by 2020. Locally, the New Bedford Marine Commerce Tunnel will be the first facility in the US designed to support offshore wind energy, creating jobs in Massachusetts and enhancing the east coast’s capabilities for clean energy.
In addition to creating jobs and income, offshore wind will aid in the protection of marine wildlife. Deepwater Wind worked with the National Wildlife Federation to protect right whales during siting and construction of the turbines. Additionally, the location of the turbines was determined to avoid the path of migrating birds. In Europe, where offshore wind is a huge industry, the platforms have even been shown to be viable for creating new coral reefs.
