Oddly Informative: Matters of Fact That Amaze and Delight by Standage Tom

Author:Standage, Tom [Standage, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800812109
Amazon: B09RCGYDFK
Goodreads: 62976151
Publisher: Economist Books
Published: 2022-10-20T07:00:00+00:00

What would a world powered entirely by offshore wind look like?

Energy shortages and high prices, driven by the economic rebound of 2021 and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, mean that countries around the world are taking a closer look at investment in renewable sources. In October 2021 Deb Haaland, America’s secretary of the interior, announced plans to open up huge sections of America’s coastline for offshore wind-farm development. These new turbines could, according to government estimates, generate as much energy per year as 30 new conventional nuclear-power plants. In Britain, meanwhile, plans announced in March 2022 call for a tripling of solar capacity and a fivefold jump in offshore wind capacity by 2030. Wind is a clean and renewable source of electricity. Putting noisy turbines offshore reduces the amount of disturbance they cause to people. And they are often far enough out to sea not to spoil ocean views. But just how much shoreline would be required to produce all the power the world needs?

The total amount of energy needed to power the world for one year is around 556 exajoules (556 followed by 18 zeros). A single square kilometre of wind turbines produces roughly 80 terajoules (that’s 80 with 12 zeros) each year. That means around 7m square kilometres of offshore farms would be needed to power the whole world. Projecting this area onto a map of the world’s wind-power density – a measure of wind speeds – The Economist worked out the optimal locations for these imaginary installations, using some of the same data as Land Art Generator, a public arts initiative. Locations are scattered around the globe. Some dot the west coast of America, one of the sites proposed by the Biden administration. Others cluster in the North Sea, where many of the world’s most productive wind farms are already installed.

Wind will never be the sole source of the world’s energy. Wind farms are only effective in certain places and even then the output is intermittent, somewhat unpredictable and impossible to control. Offshore wind is also one of the most expensive forms of renewable energy. Wildlife campaigners complain that the spinning blades can be deadly to birds and that underwater construction disturbs sealife (although turbine bases can also create artificial reefs, which promote biodiversity).

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