Abstract
HOST: You're listening to the NOAA Ocean Podcast. I'm Megan Forbes and in this episode we're talking about NOAA's role in Offshore Wind Energy. The quest for renewable energy, or energy that has been collected from resources which are naturally replenished over time, has led us as a human race to investigate the power of wind. Wind power is a growing source of low-cost, renewable energy in the United States. The U.S. is home to one of the largest and fastest growing wind markets in the world, investing in wind research and development projects, both on land and offshore, to advance technology innovations, create job opportunities and boost economic growth.
HOST: Wind energy has been utilized by humans for more than two thousand years. Historically, windmills were often used by farmers and ranchers for pumping water or grinding grain. Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity, primarily through the use of wind turbines. Offshore wind turbines are being used by a number of countries to harness the energy of strong, consistent winds that are found over the oceans. In the United States, 53% of the nation's population lives in coastal areas, where energy costs and demands are high and land-based renewable energy resources are often limited. The state of Hawaii is one of the most recent states to research the use of offshore wind as a local renewable energy sources to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, recently partnered with NOAA to gather biogeographic information to evaluate potential coastal and marine impacts from around the Main Hawaiian Islands. Through these biological assessments, NOAA is helping companies determine what the effects might be of placing a new wind turbine in a certain area of the ocean. What are the impacts to fish, corals, the seafloor itself and even to the humans living in the area? This research will help select the best spot for a future turbine to be placed.