Ten reasons why US should go for offshore wind power

1. US has enormous offshore wind energy potential. US could produce more than 4,000 GW of electricity from offshore wind — four times the nation’s current generating capacity from all other energy sources.

2. Offshore wind energy projects have significantly larger efficiency compared to wind projects on land because offshore winds are much more powerful and blow with significantly higher frequency than the ones on land.

3. With well developed offshore wind energy sector US would improve its energy security.

4. With well developed offshore wind energy sector US would be more energy independent, and wouldn't have to rely so much on foreign fuel import.

5. The strong development of offshore wind industry would create many well payed renewable energy jobs. For instance, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory calculated that if US would develop at least 54 gigawatts of offshore wind energy (the amount needed to reach the goal of producing 20 percent of its electricity from wind by 2030) then this would mean around 45,000 well payed jobs within the domestic offshore wind industry.

6. Global offshore wind energy market will grow significantly in years to come, and developing strong offshore wind energy sector could mean better competitiveness with China in clean energy race.

7. Offshore wind farms could be built significantly larger compared to the ones on land, which means that they could produce lot more electricity.

8. Offshore wind farms carry very small environmental risks.

9. Offshore wind farms are not connected with complaints about visual appeal since most of them are barely visible from the land.

10. Offshore wind energy sector could give boost to US wind energy sector that is somewhat stagnating in 2010, after the tremendous growth in 2008 and 2009.

UK will push for more offshore wind energy

UK is currently the global leader in installed offshore wind power capacity, and plans to further strengthen this position by installing more offshore wind power capacity in years to come. Many UK energy experts are convinced that Britain's offshore energy is not only enough to satisfy Britain's energy needs but could also be exported to other countries.

Britain was once, not so long ago, a net energy exporter during the peak of oil and gas in the North Sea. North Sea could once again turn out to be a British energy haven, this time not because of oil and gas but because of offshore wind energy and other renewable marine technologies.

According to the latest study harnessing just over 75% of the available offshore energy resource would produce enough renewable power for the UK to power its own economy and export excess electricity to northern Europe. What this means is that offshore wind energy could become as important to Britain as the oil was during the peak period.

Achieving such growth of offshore wind power will not be easy. The primary reason is the fact that offshore wind farms are connected with high costs because they need to be linked with the continent, and to achieve this Britain needs to built lot more transmission lines.

Britain is already a member of North Seas Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative, a group consisting of nine countries that plan to develop an international "supergrid" allowing countries across northern Europe to import and export renewable electricity.

UK government has already announced major spending cuts but many energy experts are convinced that this rule will not apply to offshore wind power, and a lot talked about £60m plan to upgrade the North Sea ports that will support offshore wind farms should soon start its realization.

Offshore wind power, despite its huge potential, will have to decrease its high installation costs, and according to some latest findings and analysis the costs of offshore wind farms could decrease by as much as 40% by 2020, making offshore wind energy much more competitive with fossil fuels.

UK is currently attracting many companies that are ready to invest in new offshore wind energy projects. Offshore wind energy projects are currently, even despite the high costs, more popular compared to wind projects on land because they are less likely to face the planning objections that usually present a major stumbling block to onshore wind developments. The big plus is also the UK's well developed oil and gas industry with lot of qualified personnel who have the necessary experience, and are used to work in marine environments.