How Hawaii Could Finally Make Floating Wind Farms A Reality

The picturesque waters of Hawaii could soon be home to the country’s first floating wind farm.

During the Hawaii Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting earlier this month, government and industry agencies discussed two proposals to build more than 100 turbines

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, received the two unsolicited proposals in January from AW Hawaii Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy. They call for one farm 12 miles off Oahu’s north shore and another in waters 17 miles south of Waikiki, a project totaling $1.6 billion.

Although there are currently no operational wind farms in the U.S., floating wind farms have been running in Europe since 1991, starting with Denmark40 percent of its power from wind

In the U.S. this year, the Department of Energy granted $47 million each

But proposals have not come without controversy.

In May, the New Jersey state appeals court agreed with the state’s Board of Public Utility’s decision to reject a plan by Fishermen’s Energy, citing concerns that the energy produced would be too expensive for consumers

Cape Wind, an approved and controversial offshore project once planned for Cape Cod, is basically dead in the water

BOEM explains that offshore winds tend to be stronger than land-based winds

Hawaii has the highest potential for such technologypassed a Clean Energy Initiativefirst state to set a goal

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The proposed Hawaii turbines are expected to generate about 30 percent of Oahu’s energy needs, with the potential for expansion. The electricity would be transmitted to the island

Joan Barminski, the regional supervisor of the Office of Strategic Resources for BOEM’s Pacific region, told Pacific Business News that the proposals still need to address several concerns

Alpha Wind Energy estimates that if accepted, the construction could begin by mid-2018, with the turbines generating power by 2020. It’s an “aggressive but realistic schedule,” AWE said in its proposal