The U.S.'s First Offshore Wind Farm...FINALLY

The story of offshore wind in America has been so far, pretty depressing. In general, wealthy people with otherwise green ideals have put a damper on offshore wind simply because they don't want to look at them in the distance. But we've finally got an offshore wind project approved for the United States (lagging woefully behind Europe).

The new wind farm will be built off the coast of Delaware, about 12 miles off the coast. That should decrease the visual distraction significantly as well as help capture those roaring atlantic breezes that average about twice that of on-land wind speeds. The field will be composed of about 150 turbines and will produce enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes at peak output.

The deal is a joint project between the Delmavra Power Utility and BlueWater Wind, which has previously created offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. The project will cost about $1.6 B. Half of the generating capacity is being pre-purchased by Delmavra. The rest of the electricity will be sold to other buyers. But not until the project is completed in 2012.

Original here