Energy Department Proposes Funding For Ohio's First Offshore Wind Project

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: An energy development group has been working for years to put together Ohio's first offshore wind project. That might sound odd for a state so far from the sea, but the benefits of offshore wind (strong, consistent gusts and relative proximity to major population centers) translate to wind turbines that are placed in freshwater, too. Consequently, an area eight miles off Ohio's Lake Erie coastline is slated to see six new 3.45 megawatt (MW) turbines as part of a 20.7MW pilot installation. On Thursday, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued an Environmental Assessment stating that proceeding with the plan would not cause any "impact to the human environment." In an additional finding published by the DOE this week, the department added that it did not believe that the offshore wind project would cause significant damage to migratory birds, either. Finally, the DOE proposed an unspecified amount of funding for the project, which will be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the US and one of the first offshore wind projects overall. The Lake Erie Energy Department Corporation (LEEDCo) and Norwegian investor Fred Olsen Renewables (FOR) will be developing the "Icebreaker" project, as the turbine installation has been called. "Interestingly, the turbines will be secured to the lake using a 'Mono Bucket' foundation, with a suction-based design that's similar to what's been used on offshore oil-drilling platforms in the North Sea," reports Ars. "The design, LEEDCo says, uses 'the best and lowest-cost technology for sites 25 meters and less.'"

Comments

Re:It's a bit of evolution in action.

[blindseer]

Then why did the Obama Administration issue permits for the killing of thousands of bald and golden eagles to wind power companies? If birds figured out how to avoid the blades then there would be no need for such kill permits.

https://apnews.com/b8dd6050c70...

Windmills do kill birds. If you want to argue that such losses are "acceptable" then that might be a valid argument. Most species of eagles have recovered since they were declared endangered decades ago and so the loss of a few thousand every year to windmills is not likely to be any significant threat. If the powers that be wish to replace coal power with wind power then these bird deaths will be a problem at some point.