Report: Wind could supply enough power to meet US electricity needs

Wind turbines off US coastlines could potentially supply more than enough electricity to meet the country’s current electricity demand, the US interior department reported today.

Simply harnessing the wind in relatively shallow waters – the most accessible and technically feasible sites for offshore turbines – could produce at least 20% of the power demand for most coastal states, interior secretary Ken Salazar said, unveiling a report by the department’s minerals management service that details the potential for oil, gas and renewable development on the Outer Continental Shelf.

The biggest wind potential lies off the Atlantic Coast, which the report estimates could produce 1,000 gigawatts of electricity – enough to meet a quarter of the national demand. The report also notes large potential in the Pacific, including off the California coast, but in much deeper waters that could pose increased challenges for turbines.

Salazar told the attendees at the 25×25 Summit, a collection of agriculture and energy representatives exploring ways to cut carbon dioxide emissions, that “we are only beginning to tap the potential” of offshore renewable energy.

McClatchy newspapers