Is Offshore Wind Veering to Growth? The article Is Offshore Wind Veering to Growth? mainly relates to the environmental concerns being witnessed all over the world due to greenhouse emission. As such, Wright analyses the use of offshore winds as one of the low carbon energy source alternatives being considered by many countries today such as the UK, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark. The reason for this move is that it is abundant, is capable of yielding a lot of energy, and the fact that it has the potential of being developed on a large scale. The article reveals that Germany is one of the countries that have set a target of tapping 25GW of offshore wind, as part of its low carbon strategy, by 2030 (Wright par. 2).
The article also notes from experience that the installation of offshore wind stations has not been received that well and is witnessing a low takeoff. Nevertheless, the installation has seen remarkable improvements over the last few years with at least 3. 5 GW of offshore winds being in line, over 2GW is already in development, and more than 100GW currently at different development stages. Nevertheless, most constructions are concentrated in North Europe especially in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium (Wright par. 4).
The article also shows that projects of offshore winds have increased in scale over the last decade, and the trend continues. The increase is mainly projected to be witnessed in UK, which will see hundreds of high voltage wind turbines being constructed. This will require numerous highly specialized installation vessels as well as port facilities to manage the increasing dimension of wind turbines, balance of plants and support structures (Wright par. 5).
Wright notes that the major challenge pertains to financial requirements as the UK round 3 Zones are projected to require over €90 billion, which would necessitate new financing models and the support of the public at all levels. Nevertheless, private investors have aired their worries regarding the high risk associated with construction, financial incentives, long-term stability, and issues related to turbine reliability (Wright par. 9).
The article also reveals that the supply chain progress has been inspired in the recent past with increasing separation between onshore and offshore wind sectors. Despite the scenario, UK is still struggling to retain profits and investment in the domestic market (Wright 12).
Response and Opinion
It is true that the impacts of global warming which is caused by greenhouse gas emissions are becoming a concern to everyone as noted in the article. As such, just as the article elaborates, the only way to lower greenhouse gaseous emissions that is causing global warming is to consider the using renewable energy sources. The use of offshore wind is indeed one-step to realizing the limit of gaseous emission by world leaders signed during the Kyoto Protocol (Koller, Julia, Koppel, Johann & Peters 5).
Despite the fact that its installation has began slowly as revealed in the article, world leaders should take advantage of this untapped source of energy since it will save the world a lot as well as make countries more independent of homemade sources of energy.
It is bad to realize that only one section of the world that is the North European countries have embraced the use of this important energy source. I am of the opinion that other world leaders should not just sit. Rather they should seek a way of investing in offshore wind turbines. It has to be acknowledged that nothing good comes cheaply. Just as the article has found out, construction of offshore wind is expensive, and any country that would want to invest in it must be prepared to use huge capital outlay. Nevertheless, it is my opinion that the initial cost matters less as long as the long-term returns would outlay the capital outlay. This is because it will see these countries reduce their levels of carbon emissions and get a steady supply of energy.
Work Cited
Koller, Julia, Koppel, Johann & Peters, Wolfgang. Offshore Wind Energy: Research on Environmental Impacts. Oak Ridge, TN: Springer, 2006 Print.
Wright, Frank. Is Offshore Wind Veering to Growth? October 3, 2012. Web. October 11, 2012 http://www. renewableenergyworld. com/rea/news/article/2012/10/is-offshore-wind-veering-to-growth
