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Coastal southern Delaware has been a hotbed of wind power discussion since Bluewater Wind proposed a 150-turbine wind farm off Rehoboth Beach. That project is stalled in the Legislature. But a new University of Delaware project shows that interest in wind power is going strong.
The University of Delaware, home of two professors who were instrumental in getting Bluewater Wind to bid in the state, wants wind to power the College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) in Lewes.
In the next couple months, New York-based consultant Sustainable Energy Developments Inc. will be putting up a temporary, fixed tower on the campus. Monitors will give scientists data they need to determine if there is enough wind on the site to be economically valuable.
Nancy Targett, dean of CMES, was inspired for the project by findings of CMES researchers. “Satellite data suggest that the winds off the Mid-Atlantic coast would be more than enough to supply clean energy to the entire region,” said the college in a press release.
Researchers will now have a chance to see if there is enough of that resource to be tapped onshore.
“If so, it would be a great renewable source of energy for the campus that would provide potential for savings and for useful research data,” said Targett.
Consultants will be checking wind speed and duration and looking at how a wind turbine affects birds and wildlife.
The results of the study will be shared in a public forum.
The research will have wider applications, college officials say.
“This wind study is just one of many efforts by university science, engineering and policy experts to help our state, nation and planet transition to more earth-friendly technologies,” said Targett.
The university’s research focuses on powering the Lewes campus, but it is possible that others may benefit from the data, which will be kept public, and use it when considering their own renewable energy options, said Ron Ohrel, director of the Marine Public Education Office at CMES and the Sea Grant College Program. The university project is not related to the Bluewater Wind project, Ohrel said.
Contact Leah Hoenen at leah@capegazette.com
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