Opinion on wind turbines shifting

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By Stephanie S. Garlow ASSOCIATED PRESS

Visitors to Rehoboth Beach, Del., soon may be greeted by more than sand dunes, sea gulls and beach umbrellas. Offshore wind turbines, with their 140-foot blades spinning in the ocean breeze, will inhabit the seascape visible to the beachgoers.

Offshore wind has taken a back seat to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the current energy debate. But those wind-driven turbines probably will be operating long before oil platforms appear off Atlantic Coast states.

Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several offshore wind proposals that have cleared significant hurdles in recent months.

Proponents say wind offers more long-term energy independence than offshore oil. Residents along the Eastern seaboard are embracing it as a stable-priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative.

"When people see the price of gas hit $4, they are very open to having discussions about alternatives," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group.

Wind energy today accounts for only 1 percent of the nation's electricity. A May report from the Energy Department concluded wind energy could generate 20 percent by 2030, with offshore sources accounting for nearly 20 percent of that. Projects mostly would be located along the Atlantic coast because the seabed floor elsewhere drops off too quickly to anchor turbines.

In Delaware, offshore wind has caught everyone's imagination, said Patricia Gearity, a member of Citizens for Clean Power, a grass-roots organization based in the state.

"People liked that it was homegrown wind, that we weren't going to import it from somewhere else," said Jeremy Firestone, a professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware.

Offshore-wind supporters say recent proposals have not faced the same kind of opposition that previously dogged projects off Massachusetts' Cape Cod and New York's Long Island. But even on Cape Cod, attitudes are changing. Where critics once held a floating anti-wind farm demonstration, polls show that public opinion has swung in favor of an offshore project.

The Long Island project was scrapped last year. But fishermen in neighboring New Jersey who once opposed offshore wind power have banded together to submit one of five bids for a 350-megawatt wind farm that would produce enough electricity for up to 100,000 households. Rhode Island may select a developer this fall for a wind-energy project.