Wind Power: More Onshore! Offshore too?

Look for more wind turbines at Steel Winds in the future. Thirteen more will be added to the old Bethlehem Steel site by 2009 or 2010, depending on equipment availability. In addition, five wind turbine towers will be erected at a new site along the Lake Erie shore in Hamburg. That's a total of 26 local generators of electricity fueled by no-cost, non-polluting, wind power! The full Buffalo News report is here.

In addition to onshore turbines, wind power advocates are promoting the idea of offshore wind turbine towers in Lake Erie. There is a lot of wind power to be harvested offshore in a region extending up to 3 to 6 miles out. Offshore wind power is already well developed in Europe at 21 different sites, and at least 11 sites in the U.S. are under consideration. Canada is considering offshore wind in Lake Ontario. For the full Buffalo News report, click here.

An earlier post here described a UB report urging NY State to develop a comprehensive plan for offshore wind power. It's time to move forward on the offshore plans. A contract was announced recently to build the nation's first offshore field of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. 150 wind turbines will be anchored in the seafloor about twelve miles off the coast of Delaware. The CNN report is here.

Someday we'll be able to take an Electric boat tour on Lake Erie to see the wind turbines and view other areas. A fleet of electric water taxis is envisioned for the Buffalo waterfront, according to John Montague, executive director of the Buffalo State Maritime Center. The quiet, battery-run boats will depend on solar and wind energy for power...electrifying! Click here for the News report.