Wind Turbines Could Supply Massive Power To The USA

[irishbobcat]

Wind Turbines Could Supply Massive Power To The USA
Jim Tankersley
Apr. 3, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- ARLINGTON, Va. -- Wind turbines off U.S. coastlines could potentially supply more than enough electricity to meet the nation's current electricity demand, the Interior Department reported Thursday.
Simply harnessing the wind in relatively shallow waters -- the most accessible and technically feasible sites for offshore turbines -- could produce at least 20 percent of the power demand for most coastal states, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, unveiling a report by the department's Minerals Management Service that details the potential for oil, gas and renewable development on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The biggest wind potential lies off the Atlantic Coast, which the report estimates could produce 1,000 gigawatts of electricity -- enough to meet a quarter of the national demand. The report also notes large potential in the Pacific, including off the California coast, but in much deeper waters that could pose more challenges for turbines.
The report is a step in the Obama administration's process to chart a course for future offshore energy development, an issue that crested last year amid high oil prices with the chants of "Drill, baby, drill" at the Republican National Convention.
Critics have accused President Barack Obama and Salazar of dragging their feet on new oil and gas drilling, and Thursday's report does little to rebut them.
It includes no new estimates of potential oil and gas reserves offshore and notes that some of the existing estimates are based on 25-year-old seismic studies.
jtankersley@tribune.com


The days of old dirty coal, oil, and nukes are gone....time to bring in new 21t Century
Clean Renewable Energy and Jobs to America!

Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org

www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/