Wind Energy for the Nearly Windless Gulf Coast

August 22, 2010 – Vol.15 No.23

WIND ENERGY FOR THE NEARLY WINDLESS GULF COAST.
by Bruce Mulliken, Green Energy News

If anything in watching endless pictures of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico we’ve learned one thing: The northern Gulf, such as along the coast of Louisiana, is not too windy and probably not windy enough to power an offshore wind farm. Had it been windier, the measly percentages for skimming and burning of oil of 4 percent and six percent, respectively, would have been even less. It would gave been very difficult to scoop up or coral oil for burning if there had been persistent choppy seas.

Still having poor wind resources doesn’t mean the region can’t get involved in wind energy. It can always get into the wind turbine business. And that is exactly what’s happening.

With an incentive package from Louisiana Economic Development (LED) worth $30 million, Blade Dynamics of the UK will be setting up shop in the state to manufacture its state-of-art high-performance ultra-light multi-megawatt wind turbine blades. Blade Dynamics blades are up to 50 percent lighter than competing blades, thus can increase the efficiency of existing turbines or allow the construction of ever more powerful machines.

Blade Dynamics facilities will be located at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Michoud Assembly Facility. The Michoud Facility is an 832-acre site owned by NASA and located in eastern New Orleans. It is one of the largest manufacturing campuses in the world. NASA and aerospace company Lockheed Martin have utilized this site for the construction of the Space Shuttle's external fuel tanks for more than 30 years. Michoud is now a multi-tenant complex for other government agencies, government contractors and commercial businesses, in addition to its core NASA work.

The Space Shuttle program is scheduled to shut down by the end of this year. The 600 direct new jobs expected to be created in the next decade at the Blade Dynamics facility will help offset some of the expected job losses from ending the program.

“This is a huge win for New Orleans and our whole state,” said Governor Bobby Jindal. “By recruiting Blade Dynamics and its revolutionary wind power technologies to Louisiana, we are creating hundreds of high-paying new jobs in New Orleans while diversifying the economy of this region.”

“Today’s announcement marks a big step forward for Louisiana into renewable energy and green manufacturing that will help us continue to grow our economy,” Jindal continued. “Louisiana possesses a remarkable combination of assets that make our state an outstanding place in which to launch a green business. We have a low-cost manufacturing environment, well-established transportation and logistics networks, an experienced workforce in energy production and experience in rebuilding with green techniques. Indeed, renewable energy and green manufacturing is one of our target growth industries that will help to diversify our economy, attract more businesses to Louisiana and, most importantly, create more jobs for our people so they can find the same kinds of opportunities here that historically they have had to pursue in places like Dallas, Houston or Atlanta.”

(Remember those words if Jindal makes a bid for the White House in 2012 as some expect. He likes green technologies, it seems.)

In addition to the $30 million, Louisiana Economic Development will also provide customized workforce support to Blade Dynamics, including assistance with employee recruitment, screening, training development, and training delivery, for up to two years during the company’s employment ramp-up.

Private investment is also helping to bring Blade Dynamics to the US and bring wind energy to the nearly windless Gulf Coast.

American Superconductor (AMSC) which provides proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems, has a 25-percent, $8 million stake in the Blade Dynamics venture. AMSC, through its Windtec business unit, has an eye on those lightweight Blade Dynamics’ blades for its upcoming 10 MW SeaTitan™ superconductor wind turbines.

Dow Chemical, through its Venture Capital group, also made a minority equity investment in Blade Dynamics. Dow could feasibly be supplying composite materials to build those blades.

Links:

Blade Dynamics
http://www.bladedynamics.com

American Superconductor
http://www.amsc.com

Dow Chemical
http://www.dow.com