Slashdot Mirror
US To Fire Up Big Offshore Wind Energy Projects
coondoggie writes "The US government today took a bold step toward perhaps finally getting some offshore wind energy development going with $50 million in investment money and the promise of renewed effort to develop the energy source. The plan focuses on overcoming three key challenges (PDF) that have made offshore wind energy practically non-existent in the US: the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; technical challenges surrounding installation, operations, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes."
1) windmills don't explode. Certainly not in a fashion that cause people's shadows to be burned into concrete like the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.
2) windmills do not HAVE to be "ugly." Seen kinetic art? No reason whatsoever the two cannot be one and the same. Even still, efficient designs are beautiful in and of themselves in their own way-- much the same way that a skyscraper can be beautiful.
3) It's more likely that the "I dont like it! WAAAAAH" from rich and powerful people has more to do with how heavily invested they are in "traditional" energy sources, than with any real or tangible complaint.