As land-based wind turbines are facing a lack of interest and demand, wind energy industry is getting a boost from Google and a NSF research grant for offshore turbines

Google's energy unit has entered into a deal to buy wind power from NextEra Energy for the next 20 years to power data centers.

The Google deal comes less than three months after the giant Silicon Valley Internet search company invested $38.8 million in two wind farms in North Dakota, developed by NextEra Energy Resources

, that generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes.

Water Based Wind Farm by GE

A fresh-water wind farm is taking shape at Lake Erie and when completed will provide 20 megawatts and get on to about one gigawatt power by 2020. Huge individual turbines 300 feet tall, to be built by GE will be erected off Ohio, Cleveland. Better designs: These are special gearless super-efficient turbines, with three 176-foot long blades, which run with the help of a giant ring of magnets. The blades are longer due to strategically placed carbon fibre, and lighter too. Many moving parts like gearbox, coils and starter brushes are eliminated with resultant reduced maintenance. The giant magnetic ring array helps the turbine generate power even at very low speed. Rejuvenating wind energy industry: As land-based turbines are facing a lack of interest and demand, wind energy industry is facing a setback

Research Grant for Offshore wind power systems that could meet most of the electricity needs of several coastal states.

With a three-year, $300,000 award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is studying the feasibility of placing large wind turbines on deep ocean platforms. The research, which combines sophisticated computer simulations and water tank studies using physical models, may point the way toward an environmentally friendly source of energy that could potentially fill a significant portion of the electricity needs of 26 coastal states.

In fact, the states with the greatest need for more electricity are those that would benefit the most from increased offshore wind power generation, says the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Of the contiguous 48 states, 28 have coastlines; according to a 2008 DOE report, those states use nearly 80 percent of the nation’s electricity.

Yet only six of those states “have sufficient land-based wind energy resources to meet more than 20 percent of their electric requirements through wind power,” the DOE report notes. “If shallow water offshore potential (less than 30 meters depth) is included in the wind resource mix, 26 of the 28 states would have the wind resources to meet at least 20 percent of their electric needs, with many states having sufficient offshore wind resources to meet 100 percent of needs.”

Europe, which has been steadily developing its wind power potential for over a decade, currently boasts more than 5,000 wind turbines that generate over 65 gigawatts of power annually. Many of those turbines are offshore, and more are being built all the time. In fact, the United Kingdom proposes to have enough offshore turbines by 2020 to power every home in the nation.

All of Europe’s offshore turbines are currently mounted on fixed-bottom, foundation-based towers in shallow water, not more than 130 feet deep. But the world’s first deep-water, floating turbine, capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of electricity, is currently being tested off the coast of Norway and expected to come online soon.

“Floating wind turbines, located far from land, would solve the environmental and aesthetic concerns associated with placing turbines near attractive natural beaches and coastal environments,” says Olinger. “They would be essentially invisible from shore while also being located in areas that provide greater wind power potential. Large sea areas, with stronger and steadier winds, are available for wind farm development.”

Olinger’s research is assessing the potential for developing offshore wind farms consisting of up to 100 floating turbines each capable of generating five megawatts of electricity (more than 60 percent larger than typical land-based turbines). While the potential is immense, the obstacles associated with placing turbines weighing up to 15 million pounds atop towers as tall as 300 feet in deep ocean waters are significant, he notes.