The Wall Street Journal has an important report on a project by two companies to prove that wind energy farms can be built in deep-water offshore locations far enough from land so that they can’t be seen from shore. If the project succeeds, it holds out the possibility at least of ending some of the not-in-my-backyard opposition to offshore wind farms.
The first two turbines of Project Beatrice are in operation, and they’re the world’s largest with blades longer than a football field - and also costly in part because they’re located in 150-foot-deep water rather than shallower waters closer to the coast. Deepwater locations also require longer undersea transmission lines.
The project, by Talisman Energy Inc., a Canadian oil and gas company in a joint venture with utility Scottish & Southern Energy PLC, is planned to eventually include 200 wind turbines, which would turn North Sea winds into enough electricity for a million people, 20 percent of Scotland’s population. Completion is not expected for seven years. Talisman has already spent $90 million just to install two turbines.The project so far has cost about $9 million per megawatt of installed generating capacity, which is much higher than the cost of building a gas-fired power station, which is less than $1.5 million per megawatt of installed generating capacity.
It is being built adjacent to the “Beatrice Field” section of the North Sea, where Talisman currently drills for oil. Talisman is a public company with stock traded on the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
While deepwater wind-farm technology is a hopeful development for those who oppose near-coastal wind farms, others say deepwater wind farms risk encroaching on shipping lanes and harm seabird sanctuaries. How that argument shakes out, and how Talisman’s deepwater wind turbines perform, are developments investors should monitor.
