Offshore Renewable Resources - The Case for Improving the Cost-of-Energy

摘要

Electricity produced from wind is secure, clean, and renewable, and has the potential to transform the U.S. energy portfolio. The U.S. wind resources are massively abundant and traverse great swaths of land and sea. When evaluating cost effectiveness of energy sources, the Cost-of-Energy (COE) plays a major role. COE is defined as production facility's total costs (C) divided by the amount of energy produced (E). It is clear that COE improvements require reduction in C accompanied by an increase in E. Shallow-offshore wind energy is feasible only in waters less than 50 meters deep and is expensive to produce. Wind and wave harvesting in deeper water presents formidable engineering and logistical challenges, however it also holds the promise of the most cost-effective offshore energy generation. HighSeasWind is developing a revolutionary floating offshore wind and hydrokinetic energy system that will lead to a new era of record-low COE.