Full Title: Wind Power to Spare: The Enormous Energy Potential of Atlantic Offshore Wind
Author(s): Gideon Weissman, Rachel J. Cross, and Rob Sargent
Publisher(s): Frontier Group
Publication Date: March 1, 2018
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The Atlantic coast states are dependent on fossil fuels, which pollute our air, put our health at risk, and contribute to global warming. In response, states in the region are moving toward an energy system powered by clean, renewable sources:
Atlantic states now generate enough wind and solar energy to power nearly 2 million homes, 19 times
more than just a decade ago. Yet to achieve a truly clean energy system, Atlantic states – which account for more than a quarter of the nation’s energy use – will need to tap into a massive clean energy resource that is right in our back yard: offshore wind energy.
With enough wind energy resources to generate four times the amount of electricity the region currently consumes, offshore wind can help power the Atlantic coast with clean energy. In order to capture this tremendous pollution-free resource, state leaders must put in place strong policies to foster development of offshore wind, while ensuring the protection of our oceans and wildlife. Offshore wind is an abundant resource located close to where we need it most, and it can play a core role alongside other renewable energy sources in providing clean energy for the future.
• Offshore wind off the Atlantic states could
produce enough electricity each year to meet four
times those states’ electricity consumption (4,574
terawatt hours), even after excluding areas not
suitable for current technology and off-limits areas
like shipping lanes.
Almost every Atlantic state
(12 out of 14) has wind potential off its shores that
exceeds current state electricity consumption.
• Tapping into offshore wind can help meet future
electricity demand created by electrifying activities
currently powered by gasoline, natural gas and other
fossil fuels, like transportation and heating homes
and businesses. If developed to its full potential,
Atlantic offshore wind could supply double the
estimated electricity it would take to power all
current electricity needs plus estimated electricity for
electrified heating and electric vehicles.