The Virginian-Pilot
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Erecting wind turbines off Virginia's coast could create as many as 26,000 jobs and satisfy more than three-quarters of the state's electricity needs, according to a report released Tuesday. Approximately 16 gigawatts of electricity could be generated annually off the coast, enough to power 5.5 million homes, Oceana, an environmental group, found it its report.
That's about 83 percent of the state's electricity needs and far more than the amount of energy that could be produced from offshore drilling of oil and natural gas, the group stated.
"Harnessing offshore wind power in Virginia waters could provide more power than the state currently gets from coal, oil and natural gas combined," said Jacqueline Savitz, an analyst at Oceana who co-authored the report. The study examined the potential of offshore wind energy for the East Coast, which it estimated could produce 127 gigawatts a year.
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At what cost?
The largest available offshore turbines produce 3.6 megawatts and cost $17million each, including associated transformers and grid connections.
16 gigawatts would require 4500 turbines at a cost of $76.5 BILLION dollars.
At almost $3million per job, that's not much of a jobs program.
The electricity produced, because of the high capital costs, would be about triple current rates, driving industrial jobs to inland areas where electricity would be cheaper.
Spain's experience with wind power shows a net loss of 2 jobs for each job created, and there is no reason to believe it would be any better here.
Wind power is just not economically viable and requires mandates for purchase or heavy subsidy.
Big picture
You left out the fact that fossil fuels are a finite commodity, and as supply runs out those prices are going to rise significantly. Wind will not run out so in the long run if you look at the whole picture wind will be cheaper. Don't just think of yourself think about the next generations too.
Fossil fuels are finite, but wind is not the answer
The inherent problems with wind power will still be there when fossil fuels are gone. One of those problems, BTW is that you have to have fossil fuel backup when the wind does not blow.
A more rational replacement for fossil fuels would be fission power in the short term and fusion in the longer term.
But wind will always lack uniformity and reliability and will always require far too much capital investment for its returns. The realities of physics and economics will remain as they are regardless of availability of fossil fuels.
If wind were really the best we could do, what that would really mean is that the cost of energy will be prohibitive for our grandchildren and they would be doomed to a lower standard of living.
The time for clean energy is now.
Our planet cannot sustain the current impact of coal and oil for much longer. If we don't put the brakes on pollution we're in for a very rude awakening.