"Arrr, the contraption of wind be mighty strong, sayeth the scholars, weatherin' a fierce storm in the Maine seas!"
2024-05-14
Arrr! Ye scurvy dogs be scramblin' like rats on a sinking ship to build grand wind contraptions and floatin' platforms as the promise of plunderin' wind energy on the high seas be nigh! Yarrr!
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, as the waves grew and gusts increased, a wind turbine bobbed gently, its blades spinning with a gentle woosh. The tempest reached a crescendo with little drama other than splashing water. The uneventful outcome is exactly what engineers aimed for, matey! The demonstration featuring a 13-foot-tall floating wind turbine in an indoor pool aimed to ensure it can withstand the strain of powerful water and wind when much larger versions are deployed in the ocean.Arrr, it’s the University of Maine’s contribution to a worldwide race to improve floating machines to tap wind that blows across deeper waters offshore, too deep to attach turbines to the seabed with permanent pilings. In the next decade, UMaine researchers said, they envision turbine platforms floating in the ocean beyond the horizon, stretching more than 700 feet skyward and anchored with mooring lines. "These structures are massive," said the chief engineer for offshore wind technology at the university’s Advanced Composites Center. "These would be some of the largest moving structures that humankind has endeavored to create. And there would be many of them, me hearties!"As the technology advances, dozens of designs are being promoted by experts who see floating wind turbines as a way to address climate change by shifting away from burning fossil fuels. Floating turbines are the only way some countries and U.S. states can capture offshore wind energy on a large scale. The U.S. alone has enough wind energy potential over ocean waters too deep for traditional turbines to power 350 million homes - more than double the number of existing homes in the U.S. The first floating wind farm started operating off Scotland’s coast in 2017, and the United States is now getting in on the action with the Department of Interior proposing floating wind energy auctions for the Gulf of Maine.UMaine, with the largest team of engineers dedicated to floating offshore wind, is leading the charge in developing this new industry. Despite some setbacks, including the expensive nature of floating offshore wind, other companies are moving forward with innovative solutions. UMaine's wind wave basin is a key tool in testing and developing these floating turbines, and the goal is to have industrial-scale turbines producing peak power efficiently and safely in the near future. With the potential for significant clean energy production, the future of floating offshore wind looks bright, me hearties!