Nikolewski, R. (2019, December 5). Offshore wind still looks to get a foothold in California. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/story/2019-12-05/offshore-wind-still-looks-to-get-a-foothold-in-california

 

While wind farms located on land are promising, successful, and even profitable, offshore wind has recently taken lead. From steadier, more frequent and stronger winds, offshore farms have a grander promise than typical rural turbines. The coastline of California has the estimated potential to yield 1.5x the state’s energy consumption, just by the usage of wind. However, most of California’s coastline is considered “wind exclusion” areas by the United States Navy. In addition, other small groups such as the Ocean Outfall Group, are against big wind. They claim that turbines have the potential to decimate bird populations, which raises another issue in taking advantage of offshore wind. On the whole, California has grand promise in the wind energy sector, but multiple obstacles will limit the possibility of offshore wind from becoming a reality. 

 

This article relates to environmental science because it describes the obstacles and challenges offshore wind farmers face, at the hands of environmental costs and benefits. While some argue offshore wind can be extremely beneficial to the consumer market, others argue that environmental costs relating to avian populations are problematic, and should be acknowledged. In my opinion, I think offshore wind shouldn’t be ignored. Although birds are at risk for the sake of producing clean energy, it is only a small ethical challenge that deters from the big picture of clean energy for millions of Californians.