Offshore floating wind turbines raise environmental, technical questions

The strategy here is to create a network of floating wind farms 10 to 50 miles offshore, where the winds are strong and -- here's the rub -- the water is very deep. A floating turbine that is sited in water that is thousands of feet deep has never been engineered, much less built and tested.

While there are thousands of offshore wind turbines in northern Europe, they are anchored (not floating) in water that, at most, is hundreds of feet deep, not thousands. Is a sustainable deepwater floating wind turbine possible? Maybe. Maybe not.

A journalistic hard look at this proposal would have also included what little is known about the potential environmental impacts of a flotilla of offshore wind turbines. These turbines, in addition to generating electricity, will generate underwater noise and vibration.

For more: Maine Voices: Offshore floating wind turbines raise environmental, technical questions | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram