Renewable Energy? I’m a big FAN!

Did you know that wind energy provides over 20% of the electricity in some states? The National Park Service website briefly describes the process by which this energy is made as, “onshore wind turbines capture energy from the wind and produce electricity using long, rotating blades that drive a generator located at the top of the tower behind the blades." 

Did you also know that wind turbines can be located onshore AND offshore? According to the American Wind Energy Association’s website, “the U.S. has a vast offshore wind energy resource. Our shores possess a power potential of more than 2,000 gigawatts (GW), nearly double the nation's current electricity use.”

According to Energy.gov's Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Wind Power, "Offshore wind represents a major opportunity to provide power to highly populated coastal cities, and the nation’s first offshore wind facility was installed off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016."

According to RI's Office of Energy Resources, "As of December 2016, the Ocean State had an estimated installed wind capacity of approximately 23 megawatts (MW), with 21 systems 100 kilowatts (kW) and greater. In 2016, Deepwater Wind LLC completed construction on the nation’s first offshore wind installation, a five-turbine, 30 MW wind farm in state waters off the coast of Block Island. A much larger offshore wind project—up to 1,000 MW—is planned for development in federal waters off of Rhode Island and Massachusetts."

If you are interested in learning more about wind energy, offshore or onshore, there is a collection of resources on this topic on display in the library and online.