Seeking Wind Energy, Some Consider the Sea

Deepwater turbines are meant to solve some of the problems of existing land-based turbines and those that are built on foundations in shallow water, like large turbine farms in the North Sea and the Cape Wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts.

Floating turbines can be located over the horizon, out of sight of land, eliminating aesthetic and noise concerns that have delayed projects, including Cape Wind. Deepwater farms can be established far from shipping lanes, aircraft flight paths, commercial or sport fishing grounds, and known migratory paths of birds and marine animals, potentially easing the process of obtaining the necessary approvals and permits.

And farther offshore, winds are stronger and more consistent, with no surface obstructions to slow the air down. This better-quality wind is also closer to population centers on both coasts. Why pay to transmit power from large wind farms in the Midwest to the coasts, deepwater proponents argue, when better sources of wind are sitting just a dozen miles or so offshore?

But the concept of floating wind turbines has its own problems, not the least of which is cost. Statoil and its partners have spent more than $70 million on the project since a couple of Statoil employees came up with the idea while out sailing eight years ago. As Mr. Bratland tells the story, they noticed floating navigational buoys of the kind that mark harbor entrances,