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Pitch

Wind turbines on mobile "islands" can travel to wherever the wind blows and won't be an eyesore 24/7.


Description

Summary

Buoyant foundations for wind turbines are not new. However, this is usually for a permanent offshore structure (like an offshore oil drilling rig). This proposal is to create massively portable wind farms, usually located close to shore (at the boundary between air masses = wind) but can be towed by boat or self-propelled to travel anywhere. This has two main advantages:

1. They can travel to locations with the highest wind speeds over the impending weeks, as predicted by ever more accurate weather forecasting techniques.

2. They won't be an eyesore to the public for very long, for any one moment in time, since they can move. They may even offer a pleasant surprise to beachgoers at any unsuspecting location!


Category of the action

Reducing emissions from electric power sector.


What actions do you propose?

Design/build project for mobile buoyant or self-propelled wind turbines. The buoyant islands on which the turbines rest shall be accompanied with an anchor, which serves the same function as a ship's anchor.

Furthermore, large farms shall be made all at once (i.e., don't half-build something or do a small-scale pilots), because there is no point in doing that. The first one built must involve each possibly hundreds to thousands of multi-MW floating portable wind turbines. A large cable connects all of them once this "fleet" anchors itself at a location, and the local grid must prepare a design and protocol for a large "plug" to the local grid.


Who will take these actions?

Engineering firms, governmental agencies (for permission on public lands and water-covered public territory).


Where will these actions be taken?


How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?


What are other key benefits?

Suddenly there will be no barriers to how many offshore wind turbines can be made. If people hate them, just move them somewhere else.


What are the proposal’s costs?

Billions of dollars, since wind farms generally cost about that much.


Time line


Related proposals


References