OFFSHORE WIND FARMS

Wind farms in the US can be found in a number of locations and more are being planned each year. Wind farms in general are collections of wind turbines that supply electricity to an entire area using the energy of the wind and wind technology. Offshore wind farms use the same concept as land based wind farms; however, they are located on the open sea to better utilize the constant wind power.

For a number of years the world has utilized the resources and space off shore for oil drilling and gas lines as well as other technologies. Using these same technologies StatoiHydro, a Norwegian company is working on building a floating offshore wind farm.

Hywind, the offshore wind farm will use the latest wind technology on the open sea to harness the consistent strong wind power. The innovative Norwegian company hopes to have the 2.3 MW systems operational in 2009.

The US is not far behind other forerunners of offshore wind farms and is ahead of many other nations in this important pursuit. Cape Wind is Americas first purposed offshore wind farm with a purposed 130 wind turbines.

It is vastly important for wind farms in the US to also utilize the advanced wind technology and expand to offshore wind farms.

This will not only allow the US to compete globally in the alternative energy initiative but also to reduce some of the foreign oil imports for energy.

The installation of Cape Wind will make Cape Cod and Massachusetts in the United States a world leader in offshore renewable energy.

Cape Wind will also create about a thousand jobs to fully create and maintain the wind turbines. Other offshore wind farm installations in the US as well as other nations will do the same which will do wonders for the global economy.

With the boost in the economy, the environmental benefits of this alternative energy such as cleaner air and lessening the amount of non renewable resources, harnessing the power of the wind is possibly one of the most important technologies we can master.

The bold step for wind farms in the US to move off shore will expand the availability to harness the vast amounts of wind power and provide alternative energy to a large number of US populations. The United States has many coastal miles that can be used to harness the power of the wind effectively, as does many other nations.

By creating wind farms off these coastal shores globally we can make a great impact on the environment and reduce the cost many people pay for electricity.