After many years of political and bureaucratic hurdles, the first offshore wind farm in the US is finally being built. The project, called “Deepwater Wind”, will be located 30 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, and is expected to be fully operational by sometime next year.
The project has been at a standstill since 2007, despite the fact that it was one of the few areas in the US that was zoned for wind farming, and was fully supported by most of the local residents.
The farm will be positioned near Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, a place that is currently powered with toxic diesel-powered generators. When the wind turbines are installed, it will only take 10% of their power to supply the whole island with electricity, and the additional 90% will be transferred to Rhode Island through underwater cables.
“Our belief is once Block Island is up and running, it will bring offshore wind from theory to reality in the United States and open up opportunities to build larger projects,” Jeffrey Grybowski, Deepwater Wind’s CEO told Reuters.
The designers have even taken the migratory patterns of whales into their plan, and will only run the turbines while the whales are not in the area.
While wind power and other forms of clean energy have been slow to make progress in the United States, areas in Europe have nearly replaced their power grids with clean energy. As we reported last month, on a windy day in Denmark, the country’s wind turbines were able to produce 140% of the area’s electrical needs.
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
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