Europe and the United Kingdom already have huge offshore wind farms. Several gigawatts more are planned by 2020. Costs are dropping dramatically due to constantly improving technology and economies of scale.
Studies indicate that building floating turbines in deeper waters off Europe’s coasts will improve wind energy’s yield and could cut offshore wind costs.
These studies are relevant in light of Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski’s claiming that offshore wind is “significantly less expensive than solar energy.”
Meanwhile, back in the sticks in the US, we’ve yet to install a single, solitary offshore wind turbine. Not one. Pathetic isn’t it?