If Carbon Tax Stays, WA Looking at Offshore Wind Turbines

If Washington state voters choose to repeal the Climate Commitment Act by passing Initiative 2117 in November, the idea of wind turbines off the WA coast becomes a moot point.

   Wind turbines are found off the East Coast

There currently is a five-turbine wind farm off the Rhode Island Coast, which generates only 30 megawatts. The US, according to Cascade PBS, has 58 such offshore projects on drawing boards. WA is looking at the technology now.

Several are in planning or exploratory stages for CA  and OR but none for WA. Most of the projects are slated nationally off the East and Gulf Coasts, due to more persistent windy conditions.

WA State has allocated $625,000 to study the feasibility of offshore wind power, but the money would not 'take effect' until next January, well after the vote on I-2117. The wind turbine study funding reportedly comes from carbon taxes taken from businesses via the Climate Commitment Act.   Businesses have to purchase pollution credits in order to stay in business.

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Due to the depth of the western coastal shores, the types of turbines employed would likely be floating, anchored to the floor with cables. The US Department of Energy is looking long and hard into such projects but also reports the costs are likely to escalate due to rising prices of materials and construction.

It costs nearly four times as much to build an offshore turbine as it does on one land. Also, by comparison, dams produce far more electricity than turbines, Grand Coulee Dam alone is capable of producing 6,809 megawatts, while John Day Dam on the lower Columbia can produce 2,160.

It will depend on what happens with I-2117.  If voters approve it, the Climate Commitment Act will go away, and likely so will the movement for offshore wind turbines.