West Coast Publishing Ocean 2014 affirmative page

Solvency Ext.

Federal Action / ITC Key

Only Department of Energy support can significantly expand the offshore wind industry

Elizabeth Harball, ClimateWire Staff Writer, April 28, 2014, “Offshore Wind: Can a DOE competition jump-start wind power in America's vast offshore?,” Energy & Environment (E&E) News, http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059998514, Accessed 5/14/2014

Speaking at an offshore wind conference held in Boston this February, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman acknowledged offshore wind's "incredible potential" for America. But he also implored industry leaders to prioritize "bringing down every jot and tittle that we can, shaving costs through technology, through improved installation, and critically, critically lowering the cost of capital." High capital costs can make offshore wind pilot projects a risky venture -- without the $47 million, several of the competitors conceded it's unlikely their projects will proceed as planned. "This is an emerging industry and they have no revenue...without revenue, it's all investment right now," Bowes said. "For the Department of Energy to step up and join in that investment is really significant."

The federal government should increase financial and tax incentives to substantially increase offshore wind energy

Norman Y. Mineta, Co-Chair, Joint Ocean Commission Initiative and Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Transportation, January 2014, “Review of: Time to Chart a New Course For the Health of Our Oceans,” Sea & Technology, http://www.sea-technology.com/ features/2014/0114/7_Mineta.php, Accessed 4/25/2014

Action two is to promote ocean renewable energy development and reinvest in our oceans. With two successful offshore wind lease sales this past summer and more to come, the U.S. has an opportunity to be a leader in promoting ocean renewable energy development as a safe, environmentally responsible and economical energy source. In order to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy and other renewable energy sources, the Joint Initiative calls on the administration and Congress to provide adequate financial and tax incentives for companies working to develop these technologies. The Joint Initiative also supports the establishment of a dedicated ocean investment fund that would use a portion of the revenues from offshore commercial energy projects—including oil and gas, and wind energy—to support ocean and coastal science, management and ecosystem restoration efforts to help managers and commercial interests make the best possible decisions up and down the coasts. 

ITC Extension is essential to reap the benefits of offshore wind

Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation, 2014, “Petition: Give Clean Offshore Wind a Chance,” https://takeaction.takepart.com/actions/give-clean-offshore-wind-a-chance, Accessed 5/14/2014

Clean offshore wind energy could power millions of homes and help save our planet from more burning fossil fuels and oil spills. But this new industry needs a boost. The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) extension has just passed the Senate Financial Committee. This tax credit helps take some of the financial pressure off of new offshore wind projects, and can help this industry take off. But there are still hurdles to pass. Do not let offshore wind get phased out before it is phased in. Take action today to make sure your senators know you support extending the ITC and the promising future of offshore wind in the United States!

Offshore wind has huge energy potential

Offshore wind energy has huge potential for expansion to meet electricity needs

Ocean Energy Council, 2014, “Offshore Wind Energy,” http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/ocean-energy/offshore-wind-energy/, Accessed 4/9/2014

Wind energy is recognised worldwide as a proven technology to meet increasing electricity demands in a sustainable and clean way. Offshore wind energy has the added attraction that it has minimal environmental effects and, broadly speaking, the best resources are reasonably well located relative to the centres of electricity demand. Moreover, higher wind speeds at sea mean an increased energy production, as energy output is a function of the cube of the wind speed. Average offshore wind energy increase ranges from 10-20%. It is expected that an important part of the future expansion of wind energy utilisation at least in Europe will come from offshore sites. The first large offshore wind farms are currently in the planning phase in several countries in Europe. However, the economic viability of offshore wind farms depends on the favourable wind conditions compared to sites on land. The higher energy yield has to compensate the additional installation and maintenance cost. For project planning and siting, especially for large projects, a reliable prediction of the wind resource is therefore crucial. While the global wind-generation market is growing at a 28% annual clip, it relies overwhelmingly on fickle government subsidies. Vestas has 40% of the market, almost three times that of GE Wind Energy, who bought the assets of defunct Enron. The Denmark firm supplies 20% of the electricity used by the country’s households. . The penetration of wind energy in the U.S. remains low — less than 1% of American consumption — but wind players think the long-term opportunities are huge.

Offshore wind has huge potential for energy development

Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind & Water Power Program and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, February 2011, A National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Energy Industry in the United States, http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/pdfs/ national_offshore_wind_strategy.pdf, Accessed 4/13/2014

The energy‐generating potential of offshore wind is immense due to the lengthy U.S. coastline and the quality of the resource found there (offshore winds blow stronger and more uniformly than on land, resulting in greater potential generation). Offshore wind resource data for the Great Lakes, U.S. coastal waters, and the OCS indicate that for annual average wind speeds above 7 meters per second (m/s), the total gross resource of the United States is 4,150 GW, or approximately four times the generating capacity of the current U.S. electric power system. Of this capacity, 1,070 GW are in water less than 30 meters (m) deep, 630 GW are in water between 30 m and 60 m deep, and 2,450 GW are in water deeper than 60 m (see Figure 2). More than 66% of the nation’s offshore wind resource is in wind class 6 or higher. The scale of this theoretical capacity implies that under reasonable economic scenarios, offshore wind can contribute to the nation’s energy mix at significant levels.

54 gigawatts worth of offshore wind would supply 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030

Walter Musial, Principal Engineer, National Wind Technology Center at NREL and Bonnie Ram, Ram Power, L.L.C., September 2010, “Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States, Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NERL), http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/40745.pdf, Accessed 5/10/2014

Achieve 20% of its electricity from wind by 2030. In assessing the potential for supplying 20% of U.S. electricity from wind energy by 2030, NREL’s least-cost optimization model found that 54 gigawatts (GW) of added wind capacity could come from offshore wind. Achieving 20% wind would provide significant benefits to the nation, such as increased energy security, reduced air and water pollution, and the stimulation of the domestic economy.

Offshore wind displaces fossil fuels

Wind will compete with fossil fuels in coastal areas

Walter Musial, Principal Engineer, National Wind Technology Center at NREL and Bonnie Ram, Ram Power, L.L.C., September 2010, “Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States, Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NERL), http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/40745.pdf, Accessed 5/10/2014

Provide clean power to its coastal demand centers. High winds abound just off the coasts of 26 states. More specifically, suitable wind resources exist near large urban areas where power demand is steadily growing, electric rates are high, and space for new, land-based generation and transmission facilities is severely limited. These characteristics provide favorable market opportunities for offshore wind to compete effectively in coastal regions.

Offshore wind costs less than fossil fuels

Anthony Watts, Staff Writer, February 27, 2014, “Claim: Offshore Wind Turbines for ‘Taming Hurricanes’,” WUWT,

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/02/27/claim-offshore-wind-turbines-for-taming-hurricanes/, Accessed 5/10/2014

Jacobson and study co-author Willett Kempton, professor in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, weighed the costs and benefits of offshore wind farms as storm protection. The net cost of offshore wind farms was found to be less than the net cost of generating electricity with fossil fuels. The calculations take into account savings from avoiding costs related to health issues, climate change and hurricane damage, and assume a mature offshore wind industry. In initial costs, it would be less expensive to build seawalls, but those would not reduce wind damage, would not produce electricity and would not avoid those other costs — thus the net cost of offshore wind would be less.

Offshore wind can displace fossil fuels for electricity because costs will be lower

Walter Musial, Principal Engineer, National Wind Technology Center at NREL and Bonnie Ram, Ram Power, L.L.C., September 2010, “Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States, Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NERL), http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/40745.pdf, Accessed 5/10/2014

Increasing the percentage of renewable energy generation in our nation’s fuel mix has the potential to significantly reduce harmful emissions. Although offshore wind projects have high capital costs, they have no fuel costs and low operating costs. These characteristics allow the turbines to produce energy at a much lower marginal cost than fossil-fuel power plants. As a result, offshore wind turbines displace power that otherwise would have been generated by the fossil-fuel plants and avoid any emissions that would have resulted from the combustion of the fuel. The specific type of displaced generation will vary by region and is dependent on the mix of generation in the area.

A2: Technical Problems

New stabilizing technology resolves problems in the Pacific

Emily Atkin, Staff Writer, February 19, 2014, “U.S. Offshore Wind Inches Closer To Reality As Dominion Places Bid On Ocean Lease,”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/19/3309181/dominion-offshore-wind-lease/, Accessed 5/14/2014

Stabilizing offshore wind turbines in the Pacific has proven difficult because of the ocean’s sheer depth, but Principle has proposed to solve the problem by stabilizing its turbines on floating, triangular platforms, rather than by singular steel piles driven into the ocean floor. The emerging technology might simplify the process of installing power equipment at sea, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said, which Principle will now have to prove in its proposal. “There are no floating offshore wind-energy projects in the United States,” Jewell said. “How they interact with the fishing industry, how they interact with the marine ecosystem, all of these things need to be understood.”

Hurricanes won’t destroy turbines

The Daily Caller News Foundation, Staff Writer, February 27, 2014, “Study claims giant offshore wind turbines will blow away hurricanes,” Red Alert Politics, http://redalertpolitics.com/2014/02/27/study-claims-giant-offshore-wind-turbines-will-blow-away-hurricanes/, Accessed 5/14/2014

Wait, won’t the turbines be destroyed by hurricanes? Jacobson says no. The turbines’ blades create resistance which slows the speeds of the storm’s outer winds. This in turn reduces the size of storm waves and increases the hurricane’s central air pressure. But there have been cases of wind turbines being knocked down or even shut off because of too much wind. Last November a 10-year old wind turbine collapsed due to high winds hitting the Oregon-Washington border.