Offshore (Windpower) Score since 2001: Europe 24, U.S. 0

[jpak]

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49302

There are those who believe that the permitting process for the Cape Wind project is moving too fast, who regard this country's first offshore wind farm proposal with the same caution one might apply to the introduction of a new, unproven line of pharmaceuticals. There are also those who cannot comprehend the ponderous nature of our permitting process, having answered half a generation ago those questions that many in America still insist are untested and unresolved.

This latter group principally consists of those involved in wind power development in Europe, where near-offshore wind has been used successfully and continuously for over fifteen years to generate electricity. And little wonder that they are perplexed; since Cape Wind was officially proposed, late in 2001, no fewer than thirteen wind farms have been completed in Northern Europe, with a further eleven now under construction or in the contracting stage.

In the UK, the average interval between proposal and permitting of a new wind farm is some eight months (yes, months and not years), largely because the ‘programmatic' issues of site selection and environmental/wildlife protection have long been understood.

For Europeans, a full generation ahead of us in offshore wind development, there is nothing ‘experimental' about the technology. They're at the top of the ninth while we're still looking for the dugout.

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