Although more and more offshore wind projects got up and running these days, a number of projects are dead in the water. As failure is the mother of success, what can we learn from failed projects? Why did they fail? Here are two cases in the US.
Cape Wind: It was proposed to install 130 wind turbines 4.8 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to power 200,000 homes. However, the project encountered severe and well-funded oppositions and is abandoned eventually. One of main barriers is its close distance from shore that ruins scenic views. It’s difficult to blame the developer for choosing this site as technology at that time was not advanced enough to install turbines farther out to sea cost-effectively.
Coos Bay WindFloat Pacific: It was proposed by Principle Power in 2014 to be a 24 MW pilot-scale project in the Southern Oregon. However, utility companies were against it because wind power was too pricey for them to sign purchase power agreement at that time.
These projects are like trailblazers who failed but set a course for following projects.