Officials in Ohio have outlined plans to bring offshore wind power to the Great Lakes. Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, will be the site for the offshore wind construction to begin in the summer.
The outline presented for offshore wind power in the Great Lakes region also has Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and US Senator Sherrod Brown potentially expanding federal tax incentives for offshore wind development and providing a guide for federal agencies coordinating the development of the industry. "As we develop this industry, instead of importing wind turbines from China and other places, we’re going to be doing the development in this country," Brown said.
And the US is on its way to the elite as it already has one of the largest wind markets, becoming the top producer in 2008 overtaking Germany. However, the North American country imported most of its wind turbines from Europe and Asia. Yet the US upped its manufacturing of wind turbine parts from what was only 30% in 2005 to 50% in 2008. Both wind turbine and turbine parts manufacturers either added or expanded 55 facilities in 2008, which created 13,000 new direct jobs. Currently, seven out of 10 top wind turbine manufacturers have plants in the US, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
The US houses energy giant GE, in addition to Siemens opening a wind blade factory in Fort Madison, Iowa in September 2007 employing 360 people. The world’s leading turbine manufacturer, Danish-owned Vestas, is aiming to obtain all the parts for its US turbines from domestic suppliers. While many Americans voice their disdain for companies outsourcing jobs to other countries with cheaper labor, the US could be well on its way to in-sourcing RE especially in the wind sector.
The US began its offshore wind industry in 2001 with Cape Wind becoming the first company to submit a project proposal for the US’ Outer Continental Shelf. After supplying the wind turbines for the Cape Wind project, GE set out in 2003 to establish a collaborative process to explore opportunities for developing next-generation offshore wind energy systems – particularly in deep water off the New England coast.
The US still faces challenges to increase its offshore wind development as policies and regulations for the sector are still in preliminary stages. The Department of Energy released a report, 20% Wind Energy by 2030, that outlines a scenario that could lead to wind energy supplying 20% of the nation’s electricity needs by 2030. The simulation indicates that more than 54,000 MW of wind energy can come from offshore sources.
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