Great Lakes are promising for wind energy, NREL says
Offshore

Great Lakes are promising for wind energy, NREL says

With 20% of the planet’s freshwater, the five great lakes — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario — show potential for future wind farm developments, the NREL says.

The great lakes have an estimated capacity of 160 GW for fixed-bottom turbines, and 415 GW for floating wind systems. To address issues that may arise, and to lay out a path to utilize that potential, the NREL released the  Great Lakes Wind Energy Challenges and Opportunities Assessment report.

In addition to the large energy potential, NREL noted that wind farms on the Great Lakes could contribute to economic growth and revitalization of factories, ports, and vessels in the area.

However, there are some problems that come with the territory: namely the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Welland Canal, which are too narrow to permit the vessels required for turbine installation.

“Everything has to be brought through the locks or built on the lakes,” NREL researcher Walter Musial, a co-author of the report, said. “For floating offshore wind energy, most of the construction and assembly will need to be administered at a Great Lakes port, similar to what we envision on the ocean. But for fixed-bottom foundations, we must find alternatives to typical ocean-based offshore wind technologies, which require giant installation vessels.”

The freshwater surface ice on the Great Lakes will prove to be another challenge, specifically for floating wind turbines, which haven’t been tested in freezing conditions.

“We don’t think developing floating wind turbines in icy climates will be a massive hurdle, but it hasn’t been done before, so there is a significant amount of uncertainty,” Musial said.

Further research is needed for an informed Great Lakes strategy, NREL said, and the laboratory released a series of preliminary recommendations for an offshore wind deployment by 2035:

  • Assessing site characterization, wind resource, lakebed features, and ice conditions
  • Evaluating the capabilities and needs of ports and vessels for installation and maintenance
  • Determining how to develop a regional supply chain
  • Assessing technology options, capabilities, and needs, including both fixed-bottom and floating systems
  • Examining ways to engage the workforce needed to support the development and ongoing maintenance of this new industry
  • Estimating project costs
  • Developing strategies to monitor and minimize environmental impacts, such as collision risk to birds and bats
  • Assessing human-use impacts, including examining viewshed and collaborating with fisheries
  • Evaluating regulatory and policy considerations in each state, including offshore leasing processes
  • Investigating electric power network points of interconnection, power handling capacity, and transmission expansion plans and needs
  • Researching prospective opportunities and synergies with Canadian entities.

The full report can be read here.

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