U.S. Wind Power Finally Gets Its Sea Legs
The U.S. is a global leader in wind energy on land. But at sea? Not so much.
Vocabulary: renewable energy, wind turbine, potential energy, mechanical energy, electrochemical energy
Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9–10.1 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6–8.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9–10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.8, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.8
Next Generation Science Standards: ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem, ETS2.A: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology, SEP2: Developing and Using Models, SEP6:Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Can be used to build toward MS-ETS1–1 or HS-PS3–3
As of this writing, the country’s only operating offshore turbine is a lone 20-kW windmill in Maine, called the VolturnUS. Meanwhile, Europe already has some 11 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity.
But the U.S. may catch up before long. This fall, a new wind farm will open on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, and experts reckon it will be the first of many, now that several states have signed bills mandating the installation of offshore wind plants. Suzanne Tegen of the National Renewable Energy Lab and Cristina Archer of the University of Delaware explain.
Of course, wind energy does have an obvious drawback — sometimes the wind doesn’t blow. But engineers are experimenting with new ways to store energy during periods of low demand for use during peak hours. Michael Kintner-Meyer of the Pacific Northwest National Lab reviews a few of these innovations, including the idea of pumping compressed air into egg-shaped concrete balls underwater.
Print this segment transcript.
Questions for Students
- Why do you think it has taken so long for the United States to embrace offshore wind farms?
- The Block Island wind farm has five turbines and should produce 30 megawatts of power. Use the estimates of household power consumption and turbine output described in the interview to make a rough estimate of the power produced by a European wind farm. According to Suzanne Tegan’s estimate of the number of homes that can be powered by one megawatt, about how many homes could a European wind farm power?
- Why does renewable energy require more flexible energy storage solutions than non-renewable sources?
- What is a common type of electrochemical storage that you use everyday? Describe the drawbacks of electrochemical storage for storing renewable energy. What do you think are the advantages of electrochemical storage?
- Many people who own oceanfront property are concerned about offshore wind farms ruining the views from their homes. Create an argument to persuade these property owners to support the building of offshore wind farms.
Activity Suggestions
- Research different technologies available for storing energy, then have students create models (working or not) of one of the energy storage devices that Michael Kintner-Meyer described. Discuss ways to store energy that use space efficiently provide the flexibility needed to store renewable energy.
- Research wind turbine technology using this resource from the Department of Energy. Build a wind turbine out of PVC pipe and other simple materials.
