West Coast Publishing Ocean 2014 affirmative page

Advantage: Climate Change Internal Links

Climate Change Internal Links

Increasing offshore wind energy development could substantially reduce climate changing emissions

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

Increasing the use of renewable energy for electricity generation is crucial to mitigate the risks of climate change and to shift the nation to a long‐term, low‐carbon economy. In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama called for 80% of the nation’s electricity to be generated from clean energy sources, including wind, by the year 2035. In the North American Leaders’ Declaration of Climate Change and Clean Energy, the Obama Administration supported the global goal of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Because offshore wind power generates electricity without emitting CO2, gigawatt‐scale offshore wind deployment could contribute significantly to a national climate change mitigation strategy. Previously, a scenario analyzed in the EERE report 20% Wind Energy by 2030 found that the United States could generate 20% of its electricity from wind energy by 2030, with offshore wind providing 54 GW of capacity. This analysis clearly shows the potential for wind energy, and offshore wind in particular, to address the daunting challenge of reducing CO2 emissions in a rapid and cost‐effective manner.

Offshore wind creates energy security and reduces climate emissions with four times the production value

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

In common with other clean, renewable, domestic sources of energy, offshore wind power can help to build a diversified and geographically distributed U.S. energy mix, offering security against many energy supply emergencies—whether natural or man-made. Wind power also emits no carbon dioxide (CO2) or other harmful emissions that contribute to climate change, ground-level pollution, or public health issues. The United States’ offshore wind energy resources can significantly increase the wind industry’s contribution to the nation’s clean energy portfolio. The United States is fortunate to possess a large and accessible offshore wind energy resource. Wind speeds tend to increase significantly with distance from land, so offshore wind resources can generate more electricity than wind resources at adjacent land-based sites. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that U.S. offshore winds have a gross potential generating capacity four times greater than the nation’s present electric capacity. While this estimate does not consider siting constraints and stakeholder inputs, it clearly indicates that the U.S. offshore wind capacity is not limited by the magnitude of the resource.

Investing in offshore wind brings four times as much electricity without greenhouse pollution and mitigates hurricanes

Robert Bowen, Staff Writer, March 5, 2014, “Can offshore wind farms also reduce damage from hurricanes?,” The Examiner, http://www.examiner.com/article/can-offshore-wind-farms-also-reduce-damage-from-hurricanes, Accessed 5/14/2014

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says that offshore wind farms can generate four times as much electricity as all the power plants in the nation — without the air pollution and greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels. As remarkable as that is, there may be another reason for the United States to build offshore wind farms: they reduce the damage from hurricanes. A ground-breaking study says that construction of offshore wind farms can actually tame hurricanes. Mark Jacobson, an engineering professor at Stanford University completed a study last September, and published it online in Nature Climate Change magazine last week. The study concludes that installation of wind turbines offshore could reduce wind speed from hurricanes up 56-92 MPH, and reduce storm surge between 6 percent and 79 percent.

Increasing offshore wind power prevents millions of tons of CO2 emissions and meets electricity needs

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

On average, one gigawatt of installed offshore wind power capacity can generate 3.4 million megawatt‐hours (MWh) of electricity annually. Generating the same amount of electricity with fossil fuels would consume 1.7 million tons of coal or 27.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas and would emit 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually. Because offshore winds generally blow more strongly and consistently than onshore winds, offshore wind turbines operate at higher capacity factors than wind turbines installed on land. In addition, daily offshore wind speed profiles tend to correspond well to periods of high electricity demand by coastal cities, such that the strongest winds (and thus highest potential energy generation) correspond to the periods of greatest electricity demand .

Large-scale offshore wind reduces pollution from fossil fuels and generate four times as much electricity

Wendy Koch, Staff Writer, February 26, 2014, “Offshore wind farms can tame hurricanes, study finds,” USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/26/offshore-wind-farms-tame-hurricanes/5813425/, Accessed 5/10/2014

Jacobson says large offshore wind farms can be a more cost-effective way to generate power than fossil fuels, given the additional benefits of reducing pollution and hurricane damage. He says even existing turbines can withstand wind speeds of up to 112 mph — typical of a Category 2 or 3 hurricane -- and a large array could slow the wind enough to prevent turbine damage from a more powerful storm. The U.S. Department of Energy, which is promoting offshore wind development along the coasts and the Great Lakes, says it's capable of generating four times as much electricity as do all current U.S. power plants.