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Roanoke Island seen as site of 500-foot test turbine
Shipbuilding giant Northrop Grumman and a Spanish company are looking into erecting a test turbine on the Outer Banks as U.S. policy moves more aggressively toward offshore wind power.
Officials from Dare County, its towns and Currituck County were called to a recent meeting for a briefing on the possibility of a 500-foot-tall wind turbine being built for research at the planned University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute campus on Roanoke Island.
Plans also call for another prototype turbine a mile offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.
The meeting was organized by North Carolina’s Northeast Commission, a regional industrial development agency, and included officials from Northrop Grumman, the shipbuilding and aerospace firm, Gamesa, a Spanish company that manufactures the massive wind turbines, and the state Department of Commerce.
Some details emerged at Monday’s meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners when County Manager Bobby Outten presented proposals for a wind energy facilities ordinance. Suggestions were aimed mostly at smaller residential turbines, but Outten said the board would need to consider how the county ordinance will address the possibility of an industrial-sized windmill on shore.
He said height restrictions would prohibit one now.
Outten told the commissioners that the proposal for the Coastal Studies Institute, which plans to build a campus in Skyco, envisioned a turbine 500 feet tall at the highest tip of one of the blades. The idea would be to build a windmill that could be easily accessed for research. It was billed as being remote enough not to intrude on populated areas.
The companies also discussed erecting a second windmill offshore. Kitty Hawk Mayor Pro Tem Gary Perry, who attended the meeting and is a member of a governor’s commission examining energy options, said it would be outside of federal waters and close enough to shore to minimize costs for transmission lines.
“Of course my response, echoed by others at the meeting, was how would Dare citizens and tourists react to the windmill that close to shore,” Perry wrote in an e-mail. “We felt it could have a negative impact on the tourist industry.
“To me a more serious consideration lay in the fact that once testing was completed, the windmill(s) would not be removed. There was no provision for future maintenance, repair or replacement. Put it up, do the testing and walk away.”
Ray White, vice president for marketing with North Carolina’s Northeast, said the companies have put the offshore prototype on a back burner. He also said the company has offered assurances that if a turbine were built at CSI, it would be dismantled and removed after its useful life.
White said that North Carolina is competing with other Mid-Atlantic states as the location for a prototype turbine. The companies, he said, want to move quickly to get permitting in place and start work by the fourth quarter of 2012.
Northrop Grumman and Gamesa are moving to the forefront of technology coinciding with this week’s announcement by the Obama Administration that offshore leases for wind farms could be made available off the mid-Atlantic coast.
On Thursday, a ribbon cutting for the Gamesa North American Offshore Wind Technology Center in the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake included Gov. Bob McDonnell as well as local government and corporate officials.
Officials were told at the North Carolina meeting that Northrop Grumman is getting into the wind turbine business for two main reasons. As a shipbuilder, its expertise is in large machinery and the offshore environment. It could also create a new market for its shipbuilding arm, which now relies heavily on defense contracts. The company owns what was once known as Newport News Shipbuilding.
Perry said that building a wind farm 20 miles off the East Coast would need specialized ships that would be American-built and manned by U.S. personnel. Northrop Grumman’s involvement would provide a U.S. component for supporting the turbines. The two test prototypes are being built by Gamesa Technology Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of the Spanish company.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in Norfolk earlier this week that the U.S. could begin leasing wind farm sites off the mid-Atlantic as far south as Virginia by the end of the year. They also said that the federal government would spend $50.5 million over the next five years for research and development of offshore wind energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of wind producing 20 percent of the nation’s power by 2030.
In a statement after the announcement, Gov. Bev Perdue said she wants “North Carolina to be the first state on the East Coast using offshore windmills to generate energy.
“Our state has first-class wind resources and the largest offshore wind on the East Coast, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Developing just some of these resources could be an economic boon to the state in the years ahead.”
At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Mike Johnson said that it was Dare County’s job to look after the interests of residents and property owners, not to facilitate new business for Northrop Grumman.
“We don’t base our decisions on how we can help them,” Johnson said.
But Commissioner Richard Johnson said that Dare County was known for firsts, most notably the first powered flight. He said wind turbine testing would enhance the county’s reputation in education and research if the project moves forward.
“Once again Dare County will be on the map as one of the leaders in this type of technology,” he said.
Last year, plans by Duke Energy to build up to three test turbines in the Pamlico Sound were abandoned.
U.S. Department of Energy photo.
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The Taxpayer says:
This will be interesting to watch. We certainly have plenty of wind on the OBX, so we might as well start harvesting it. I just want our elected leaders to ensure our natural beauty isn’t disturbed. There is plenty of space off shore for wind turbines.
charlie says:
Not many people get to see a wind turbine up close. Rather than a tourist turn off, this project may become a tourist turn on..A 100 years ago who’d have thought that people would actually pay to climb up a lighthouse?
Deb says:
“Shipbuilding giant Northrop Grumman and a Spanish company” — What? We don’t have any AMERICAN COMPANIES who can work on this project?
Haven’t we learned anything from Spain’s experience with the green economy?
Currently, Spain’s unemployment rate is 20%. According to a recent study from Juan Carlos University in Madrid , “Spain’s experience (cited by President Obama as a model) reveals with high confidence, by two different methods, that the U.S. should expect a loss of at least 2.2 jobs on average, or about 9 jobs lost for every 4 created, to which we have to add those jobs that non-subsidized investments with the same resources would have created,” the study’s author Dr. Gabriel Calzada concluded.
The report out of Spain also shows that “when a government artificially props up the industry with subsidies, higher electrical costs (in Spain’s case 31%) and tax hikes (5%) along with government debt follow. Every job created was estimated to cost $800,000 to create, and 90% of these were temporary.”
Mico says:
yeah, I’ve never understood the argument that it would turn away tourists. I’ve always found the windmills rather elegant, pleasing to the eye. All the more so because of it’s functionality and energy returns. Certainly a million times better than an oil rig! If anything this would be another way to appeal to visitors, at least the educated ones. For the fearful it’s an opportunity for learning. AND…Could mean well paying jobs instead of just the service crap predominant now.
oboe says:
I would rather see oil wells.
Red says:
I own a 2nd place on the OBX so I consider myself more than a tourist. I would have absolutely no problem whatsoever seeing one, or several, windmills offshore. In fact, I’d consider it good pr and be proud of it. The US needs to put our money where our mouths are as far as energy independence. This is one issue I agree with your Gov on; NC would be wise to establish itself as the east coast leader.
ekim says:
I dont care what tourons think, they dont pay my bills.My fear of the wind turbine’s is it will turn out like solar panels, how many of them do you see in your neighborhood. Oil is what makes this great nation work ,keep drillin or start walking
old news says:
I see that this project is taking my job from me giving it to out of town company
old news says:
what about local companys?
John T says:
Drill,Drill,Drill!
go figure says:
people who complain about how it looks or it might turn tourists away are delusional, beach driving and all the trash from ignorance and wanting to parade all over every inch of the island in your oversized environmental disaster 4×4 will turn the kind of tourists we want away, smart people who understand and accept the coming changes that are inevitable, big truck culture has got to go!!!!!!!!!!! i’m sick of looking at those ridiculous eyesores, along with hooters and all the wings and all that crap which has definitely made the outer banks less and less appealing everyday
Chris says:
This will be a waste of money just like in Spain. Drill of the coast!
old news says:
ITS TOO CLOSE TO GROUND ZERO !!!!!
Queenofdapool says:
What happens if a plover gets caught in the blades??????
ekim says:
GO Figure 4×4 is not a culture, its a way of life. So why don’t you MOVE! I’m tired of whiners who have accomplished nothing in life telling everyone else how to live. Hey y’all hear about the new drilling rig that has been invented! More GAS for our 4X4 YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAA BABY!!
MIke says:
Oil, coal and natural gas are all subsidized in the U.S. World oil supplies are dwindling. It make economic sense to start using renewable sources.
The reason there isn’t an American company to build it, is because our politicians are in bed with big energy companies who make a lot of money of fossil fuels. It is also going to be a prototype turbine, so the company is probably not charging the state for it.
The wind is much better off the coast or in the sound, but it will probably work in Skyco. The costs go way up when you try to put them in water.
There are so many hurdles before they get permission to put it up. They have to get approval from so many bureaucrats. So we might see this thing go up in 2018. We all know the world is gonna end in 2012 anyway so who cares?
Richard says:
Great we build a giant windmill at a cost of millions of dollars on our island and maybe provide enough electricity for one home. Global warming is a hoax folks a hoax that digs into your checkbook each and every day
SouthCreek says:
A couple of comments:
* if the Dare BOC would get focused back on real issues instead of trying to cover up shady expense accounts, they could have already adopted a wind energy ordinance that INCLUDED bond provisions to remove “shut down” or abandoned equipment. Other area counties have already done that!
* why is NG wanting to build these down here and not in Virginia????? Is this just another OLF where Va gets the jobs and we get the “shaft”? And,
* do the math…….the only way this technology EVER makes sense is if the cost of power per kWh goes up substantially due to a lower percentage of power being derived from coal or gas. So, support these and similar technologies at the peril of your power bill!
Bob says:
I find it interesting that the only thing this article mentions about the wind turbine is 500 feet high. No mention of the amount of power they will generate. The major problem with wind turbines is that maintenance costs are very high. When personnel are required to do maintenance, usually due to out of balance and bearing issues, a special crane greater than 500 feet high is required. Definately a high cost item. At lease the offshore turbine is on hold because the problems with that location duplicates those on land with additional issues related transmitting the power to shore and high levels of corrosion that exist in a saltwater enviornment.
The real answer to making green power without using oil & coal (clean coal is an oxymoron) is to build nuclear power plants. They would be considered “green” if the government permitted re-processing of the spent fuel like they do in France. Currently nuclear power plants in this country are required to store spent fuel on their sites. Maybe you all remember the on and off again Yucca Mountain project that is currently off.
charlie says:
If they do this correctly it could become a tourist attraction….Everybody wonders about these systems and nobody gets to see one upclose.
I don’t care about global warming, I don’t care about piping plover becoming mashed potatoes in the revolving blades. I do care about China buying up every source of energy. I do care that China is in the forefront of solar power, etc. I do care that people who think western nations should become islamasized and those people have tremendous oil reserves. I do think that people on the Outer Banks laughed themselves silly when the Wright brothers came here and said they would fly. I do think that people on the Outer Banks should look seriously at this project.
OBX Resident says:
We should all be applauding efforts to bring business to Dare County. UNC-CSI is going to provide real jobs to Dare County citizens, students attending the university are going to spend their money locally, professors are going to need houses, there will be a need for all sorts of trades to work on the campus during construction and once completed. The possible wind turbine will further highlight available research programs not offered at other schools. We all know the impacts of being tied solely to one economy.
Directed at the anti-energy sources other than oil: Oil production and research is subsidized with public funds. Will these turbines be a viable source of energy that is cost effective? Who knows, let them put up the test turbine and study it and see if it is. Let the data speak for itself. There are no turbines developed of this size and there are no turbines in our waters. Without specific data, the anti-wind energy people’s arguement lacks serious merit.
Also, if a wind farm is located in waters off of our coast, It would seem logical that boats from Wanchese would be able to go out and service the turbines in some manner.
As for aesthetics, near the site of the proposed turbine, there is an existing radio tower, and there is a permitted to be built 550′ radio tower. No one complained about the associated “aesthetics” of these structures. Check this article out about the affects of wind turbines on tourism:
http://www.countrysideenergyco-op.ca/files/cec_flyer_windfarm_tourism_20060713a_w.pdf
First English Settlement, First English Child born in the New World, First in Flight, First in Wind Energy….
Old News says:
UNC-CSI never cared about renewable energy until they were offered money, they’ll pull any trick for a buck. the “research” they do states the obvious.
Jacque says:
We have a very large wind farm here in Indiana, you just cannot imagine how big they are until you get up close to them. They will dwarf anything in the OBX. And they say this is only tempary plan in the OBX? Up here it is generating electric power and more turbines are being planned. Why only a part time gig for you guys? this could be a good way of generating electric for your future. It is clean, quiet, unlike drilling for oil, it will not kill the fish or the beaches or your way of life if there is a problem. Here in Indiana, wind turbines were built and are operated by Horizon Wind Energy, a Houston-based renewable energy company. The 121 turbines comprise Phase I of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm in White County, Ind., powering the equivalent of 60,000 homes. Horizon pays farmers $4,000 to $8,000 per year to use their land, building turbines and access roads through the fields. Another 66 turbines are scheduled to go online in the next three weeks, and the company will have all four phases of the project completed by October 2011. The plan is to have 600 turbines total. With 300 up and running to full capasity they will bring enough to power 300,000 homes.
i understand what is coming to OBX is just research…but what if something like this would come???? would this HELP the people that lived there??? Seems like a win win to me!!! It sure is in Indiana!!!
But wait….as said before, what if a pipping polver gets caught in one, I am sure the NPS will pull the plug
obx resident says:
UNC-CSI was never interested in renewables until they were offered money for it by the state, cause they’ll pull any trick for a buck. green or not
Taylor says:
So why do they need to build one to test or research? The things are up and running all around the world??? So let me see we spend 15 times “X” to test something that costs 1/2 of “X”… that has already been tested 200 times before??? No wonder our government works so well!
OBX Resident says:
I did not state the last comment. I stated the first but not the reply.
“UNC-CSI was never interested in renewables until they were offered money for it by the state, cause they’ll pull any trick for a buck. green or not”
CSI has always been interested in sustainable developement and research. That is why they have a specialist devoted to the position.
Stan Clough says:
I will take one in my yard !I like the idea of offshore wind farms and drilling for all that natural gas.
ekim says:
The tourons come to swim in our beautiful ocean, Not to look at a wind mill. The fella that said we’re running out of oil pig feathers! stop listening to the whining tree huggers! the wind aint gona move your car. If the gov is in bed with big oil(not true)do you think the power co is going to support cheaper electricity not a chance. DILL NOW DRILL EVERY WHERE!
Russ Lay says:
@Bob–the reason the article doesn’t mention the power generation is that it was NOT discussed. Re-read the first line. This is a test windmill. To be precise, the company is looking for one ocean based site (in 100 ft of water or more and near shore) and one land based site. They plan to test turbines and blade configurations on land first, then if feasible, try them on the ocean site (yet to be determined but not on the OBX) and compare data from both.
The long range plan is for them to develop a prototype that would be in federal waters, 15 miles offshore in very deep water, up and down the coast. They are looking at 15 to 20 years for deployment on a commercial basis, so this windmill is part of an R&D project, mostly funded with private sector money as a long-term test. They want to sell whatever power they generate to the grid, but that is not the goal or purpose of this windmill. (Russ)
Russ Lay says:
PS–the one in Delaware built by the same company is rated at 2MW
Hatteras Ed says:
I guess what I don’t understand is why go through the substantial additional expense of building it offshore when you could build it onshore for a fraction of the cost???
I am in favor of wind energy as well as drilling offshore. We need to have an adult national converstaion on our energy resources and how to get off the foreign oil bandwagon.
Lisa says:
I am an “all of the above” options type of person. Done responsibly, the wind we have plenty of here could provide some energy. Solar is mostly an individual choice to install, although I have seen some companies, mostly in California, that lease them out (they install them, and own the excess energy produced when you lease).
Since Obummer is dead set against domestic oil production, which I think is short sighted, anything we can do to reduce our dependency on foreign oil is a good thing. I think we should drill in the US for oil, and tell the Arabs where they can stick their oil. Then the jihadis can all be mad at the next country that imports their oil.
I think the situation with the earthquake damaged reactor in Japan has pretty much taken nuclear power out as an option, no matter how efficient it might be. I’m not opposed to nuclear, but I don’t think it will be implemented.
charles oppage says:
Opposition to renewable energy such as solar and wind energy is beyond idiotic. There are few areas in this state that have less access to “home-grown” sources of energy which is vital to ALL the economy of the Outer Banks. Yet shortsighted troglodytes fight it because it is “not pretty” and might block the view. The northern outer bans has about 80 miles of coastline so a windmi9ll would have to be miles high to block the whole view. This is another NIMBY. We can welcome and lead into the future or pay a much higher price later for the ignorance.
Bob says:
Russ Lay: Keep in mind that when you compare one windmill that generated 2 MW with one nuclear generator that generates 1200 MW it is more than slightly weighted to nuclear. I was not trying to open the door for controversy. I was just trying to let people know that the wind turbines such as those in Barstow, CA are mostly down for maintenance and they do not generate a sizable amount of power. And the maintenance issues are huge.
Nature Girl says:
Has anyone noticed those ugly power poles right beside the bypass? They will function much better in hurricane force winds I am sure due to the fact that the power lines are on springs. But no one worried those ugly poles would decrease tourism. We built a passive solar house – yes there were tax credits at the time we built it. We loved it and it did function very well and save on utilities. It was so bright and cheerful. Now we would love to own a wind turbine. I think they are more attractive than the new power poles. Oil has a limited future, coal is dirty and nuclear is crazy – look at Japan. The latest forms of oil extraction are very, very ugly and if you don’t know about fracking you should read the latest on what it does to the water supply. Wind and sun are the cleanest source of energy and they don’t require destroying vast acreage and polluting the water and air supply the way oil, natural gas, and coal extraction do.
Thad Redmond says:
The research generator is to be sized in the 5-7.5 MW size. That is the reason for the test, a new unit. The European offshore units are not that big. To make construction cost competitive per KWH you need the economy of scale-largeer units that produce more power, with fewer units for total MW and reduced foundations,etc.We need jobs on the OBX, how many of your neighbors are no longer here for the construction boom that busted. We definitely need a national energy plan and a mix of renewable, fossil, gas and nuclear!