OFFSHORE WIND FOR GEORGIA?

The results of a Southern Company-commissioned study of offshore wind in Georgia are in. The report finds good prospects for offshore wind in Georgia but that's not news.

Even if this is the most crass greenwashing of the year – and NewEnergyNews has no reason to say it is – it is still GREAT news that Southern Company took enough interest in wind energy to commission a study. Even if the giant utility is just PRETENDING to be interested it is a step forward.

Southern Company has been one of the most staunch and enthusiastic opponents of New Energy's national policy initiatives. The company was instrumental in killing a House-passed Senate initiative for a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) that would have required its subsidiary utilities to obtain a specific, significant portion of their power from New Energy sources by a date certain.

Want a taste of Southern Company's core attitude to New Energy?

From the Southern Company website: “Renewables like solar power and wind turbines often catch the public eye, but challenges with their consistent and widespread use in the Southeast persist. Solar energy is expensive to capture, and solar generation equipment often requires large tracts of open land to install. Cloud cover and night skies limit its reliability. Wind turbines also require acres of land. Calm conditions prevail frequently in the Southeast, making viable wind power sites scarce and operation intermittent. However, these limitations don't apply everywhere. So we are evaluating investments in renewable generation projects throughout the country."

So far, Southern Company’s "evaluations" have led to 0 wind installations and 0 solar installations.

To their credit, they do have geothermal and hydropower generation in their portfolio and are talking about “clean” coal.

Local New Energy advocates would, of course, love to see Southern Company build offshore wind. Mary Carr, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy: "We need to see them looking beyond traditional energy sources and to improve on their renewable energy portfolio…We need the Southern Co. to get serious about offshore wind."

What do locals think about building offshore wind in Georgia?

Jack Lamb, fishing for shark off the pier, Tybee Island: "It'd be clean energy and it wouldn't hurt anything…And if it was that far out, most people won't know what it was. It'd look like a buoy."

What about the local political leadership?

Paul Wolff, Tybee City Council & Georgia Wind Working Group: "I am hopeful that Georgians are intelligent enough to realize our very lifestyle, which is blissful in many ways, is threatened…We can't continue with the philosophy that we can use energy until it's gone. We need to take charge of our own destiny."

There are many obstacles to the development of offshore wind anywhere in the U.S. and certainly in Georgia. Southern Company says a pilot project is at least 5 years off. But if Southern Company is talking about it, anything is possible.

The proposed Georgia offshore wind installation would be barely visible from the beach. (photoshopped by Atlanta Journal-Constitution - click to enlarge)

Wind turbines considered for Georgia coast
Dan Chapman, July 9, 2008 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

WHO
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech); Southern Company, parent company of Georgia Power

WHAT
Southern Company claims to have seen enough in Georgia Tech studies it commissioned of offshore winds off Georgia coastal islands to be”considering” seeking a permit to conduct further studies.

The proposed Cape Wind installation would be barely visible from Cape Cod yet NIMBY-ism has blocked it for 7 years. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The amount of U.S. wind-generated electricity increased 45% IN 2007.
- The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a study affirming the feasibility of the wind energy industry’s goal of generating 20% of U.S. electricity by 2020.
- A Southern Company spokeswoman says a feasibility study of offshore wind could take 3 years and a pilot project is 5 years away.

WHERE
- Tybee and Jekyll Islands off the Georgia coast.
- The regular and significant output of the 18-turbine Buffalo Mountain wind installation near Oak Ridge, Tenn., proves there are places in the southeast with wind resources.
- There are no offshore wind installations in the U.S. and proposed sites such as Cape Wind off Cape Cod in Massachusetts have met stiff opposition.
- In Europe, there are 20 wind farms providing energy to the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.

WHY
- Obstacles to the development of offshore wind in Georgia: (1) Extension of the production tax credit (PTC) which incentivizes development. (2) Production costs are up. (3) Afederal permit is required to build a 300-foottall test tower. (4) Environmental Impact Studies must be done on right whales and migrating birds.
- A 2004 Georgia Tech study reported wind speeds on a Navy platform 40 miles off the coast registered 15 to 17 mph wind speeds.
- A 2005 Georgia electric coops alliance built erected a 200-foot tower atop Rocky Mountain near Rome to collect wind data and Southern Co. put up $580,000 for the Georgia Tech study of Tybee and Jekyll Island offshore sites suitable for 80 turbine installations.
- The best site is 10 miles southeast of Tybee, where turbines would be just barely in sight of beachgoers.
- Regions with rich wind assets have profitably built a lot of wind capacity.
- Offshore wind installations may cost twice what onshore facilities cost and all extensive wind build-outs require costly new transmission.

Many offshore installations have been proposed for North America. None have been built. Europe has 20 offshore installations in operation. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Liz Philpot, research engineer, Southern Co.: "More data is needed before any determination on whether a wind farm can be placed out there…There are so many issues that have not been resolved, including regulatory issues. ... We're doing what we can."
- Jason Cuevas, spokesman, Southern Co.: "We think all options need to be on the table, including renewable energy, nuclear and clean coal…So any tools available to help improve and spur development of alternative sources we typically support."
- Paul Wolff, Tybee City Council & Georgia Wind Working Group, on the Tybee Island site: "It is not a pristine ocean view, but the turbines would be no more visible than channel markers…So we might as well be generating energy."
- Bill Bulpitt, senior research engineer, Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute: "Wind energy can work…But the stars have to be aligned in a number of ways."