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Louisiana's New Energy "Wind Farms" Proposed on Offshore Rigs

Posted on: Monday, 4 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

LAFAYETTE The way Harold Schoeffler remembers it, the idea of placing power-generating windmills off Louisiana's coast had its start in an argument with an oil industry executive.

The executive, Schoeffler said, was complaining about the millions of dollars required to take down old offshore drilling platforms because of stiff environmental regulations.

Schoeffler, the owner of a Lafayette Cadillac dealership and one of the more-outspoken environmentalists in southern Louisiana, responded off the cuff that perhaps oil companies would be wise to place large wind turbines on the old platforms: harnessing energy from above the water rather than below it.

"He told me there wouldn't be enough wind to power a 12-volt battery back on shore," Schoeffler said.

He decided to look into it.

Two years later, Schoeffler and his partner, New Iberia engineer Herman Schellstede, are envisioning "wind farms" dotting the Gulf coast from Louisiana to Texas.

No offshore wind farms exist in the United States but interest is growing and a few have sprouted in European waters.

"Offshore, the winds are generally more stable than they are on land. But it's more expensive and challenging to build an offshore wind farm. You need the cable to run power back to land, the foundations in the water," said Christine Real de Azua, of the American Wind Energy Association.

But she said improvements in wind turbine design and the rising cost of fossil fuels have made offshore more intriguing.

Add to those developments a 2003 Stanford University study that found the Gulf of Mexico might offer one of the best wind resources in the nation.

"We have known for a long time that on land, Louisiana doesn't have any potential for wind energy," said Bryan Crouch, with the technology assessment division of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. "Offshore, no one really thought about it. This Stanford report came along and opened a lot of eyes."

The Stanford study has piqued the interest of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, whose rule-making authority could make or break the wind project.

"My initial impression is positive, because this may be one of the few renewable generation avenues that will work in Louisiana," said District 2 Public Service Commissioner Jimmy Field. "But I think first they need to show us that, No. 1, they can do it, and No. 2, what's the cost."

Louisiana coastal winds have also attracted the attention of oil giant Chevron, which has recently begun researching the "commercial viability" of offshore wind farms here, said company spokesman Matt Carmichael.

And the Louisiana Legislature opened the door for offshore wind projects last month, passing a bill that sets up a framework for leasing offshore areas for wind energy production.

Still, there are few road maps for the handful of states considering offshore proposals.

"This is such a new frontier for everybody, and there is nothing to model it after," said Jim Suydam, a spokesman for the Texas General Land Office.

He said Texas, a top producer of onshore wind energy, is courting developers for offshore projects with hopes of collecting production royalties from wind similar to those from oil.

"Looking down the road 30 or 40 years, we're not sure we can depend on oil and gas revenue," Suydam said.

On the other side of Louisiana, the Georgia-based utility Southern Company, which serves parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, plans to begin a year-long study in July to determine the economic feasibility of a wind farm 10 to 15 miles off the coast of Savannah, Ga.

Construction on the first offshore wind farm proposed in the United States, CapeWind, is scheduled to begin next year off the coast of Massachusetts.

The project has met resistance from groups concerned about the impact of the wind turbines on birds.

The same concerns have been raised in Louisiana, which lies in the migratory path of millions of birds making fall and spring treks across the Gulf. It's considered one of the most important migratory pathways in the world.

"We think renewable resources are obviously the way to go, but they (wind farms) can have a terrific impact on birds if they're not done correctly," said Louisiana Wildlife Federation President Randy Lanctot. "We want to kind of hold the developer's feet to the fire so they don't cut any corners."

Schellstede said his company is researching migratory patterns and plans to halt the turbines for maintenance during peak migration periods.

He also said he plans to work with "bird folks" to develop additional safeguards and may avoid areas that see the heaviest migration traffic.

"We are attentive to this and don't want to add to the problem," Schellstede said.

A platform is a platform

The CapeWind project in Massachusetts has also run into opposition from residents who say that the sight of towering wind turbines might upset the aesthetics of the New England shoreline.

Few believe that will be a problem in Louisiana and Texas, where thousands of oil and gas platforms are spread through coastal waters.

"When we see platforms out in the Gulf, we think the economy is healthy," said Suydam, with the Texas land office.

Schellstede has made a living for nearly 40 years designing and building those platforms for the offshore oil and gas industry.

When Schoeffler approached him about the project in 2003, he looked at it with an engineer's eye, wondering how best to solve the problem of stabilizing the huge turbines in Gulf waters.

"We're taking offshore technology that's been tested for 50 years out in the Gulf and using it for wind power," he said.

The wind turbines would stand 390 feet from top to bottom. Each of the three rotating blades would be 125 feet long.

Schellstede said the plan is to install 1.12-square-mile "farms" of 17 turbines, which he said could produce 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 45,000 homes.

He said some of the turbines would rest on existing offshore drilling platforms that are no longer producing, some on old platforms that have been pulled from other areas of the Gulf and refurbished, and some on new structures built for wind turbines.

Schellstede said much of the work could be done down the road from his office in fabrication yards at the Port of Iberia, which has long served the offshore oil and gas industry.

He has already solicited bids from local fabricators.

"A platform is a platform, whether you put an oil rig on it or a wind turbine," said Port of Iberia Director Roy Pontiff. "That's what we do for a living over here."

All about the money

Start-up cost for a 50-megawatt offshore wind farm is about $75 million, Schellstede said.

But wind, unlike coal and natural gas, is free. And operating expenses, even taking into account the high-dollar liability insurance needed for offshore structures, is low, Schellstede said.

There are no firm numbers for wind energy cost - several variables are at play. But Schellstede said that, in order for his company to make a reasonable investment return, the power will likely come in slightly higher than the current market rate, which in recent years has ranged from 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers.

And Schellstede said that, if a major utility doesn't agree to buy the wind energy, any proposal for a large-scale wind farm in Louisiana could be dead in the water.

He said his selling point is long-term contracts, which would guarantee a fixed price for the wind energy over 5-10 years, a time when fossil fuel costs are expected to rise.

The Louisiana wind project could get a big boost if the state Public Service Commission adopts a so-called renewable portfolio standard, a requirement that utilities obtain a certain amount of their energy from non-polluting renewable sources, such as wind.

The requirement, adopted or proposed in some form by at least 18 states, would offer a strong incentive for Louisiana utilities to purchase energy generated offshore because the state has few other viable options for renewable energy, said Commissioner Field.

"I would give serious consideration to adopting some renewable standards if it could work and wouldn't be prohibitive from a cost standpoint," Field said.

District 5 Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said he welcomes wind energy "with open arms" and would consider a renewable requirement if wind-generated power could come in close to the going market rate.

"It's just something we have to take a long, objective look at. I don't mean any kind of jaded view from utility companies not wanting competition," Campbell said.

Brent Dorsey, director of corporate environmental programs for Entergy, Louisiana's largest power supplier, said he doubts offshore wind energy could be produced close to the going market rate here and said any renewable portfolio requirement would likely result in higher electricity costs for consumers.

"As much as I hate to say it, it is always about the money," Dorsey said. "Somebody will have to pay for that, and that typically falls on the shoulders of customers."Dorsey and others have suggested that, instead of a renewable requirement, individual consumers could be given a choice of paying a premium for renewable energy - a so-called green tariff.

Texas already has a renewable standard, and Schoeffler said the first project may happen there, off the coast of Galveston, with the energy piped into the existing power grid and purchased by companies that have an incentive to buy green power.

The wind farm of the coast of Galveston, if a deal comes through could be as large as 150 megawatts, Schellstede said.

Schoeffler said that Wind Energy Systems Technologies, his and Schellstede's wind energy company, plans to install two wind-spped test towers this year off the coast of Texas.

He said a third test tower, mounted on a barge, will be move to different spots along the Louisiana coast.

The Stanford wind study looked at wind speed at surface level, but Schoeffler said that the towers will test wind speeds at 275 feet off the water's surface.

He expects the results to show even stronger and steadier winds. If he's right, the power could be even cheaper to produce than initially thought.

The wind turbine structures are designed to withstand hurricane- force winds and the turbines, which would be linked to a system that monitors weather conditions, could be turned off during storms, Schellstede said.

Schellstede said the company is also considering smaller-scale operations in Louisiana, possibly using wind energy to power offshore oil and gas rigs or coastal ports or communities.

And he said the company is preparing a proposal to power the small resort island of Utila, off the coast of Honduras, with three wind turbines.

Schellstede said such small-scale projects could serve as proving grounds for a larger project.

"It is technically feasible," said Crouch, with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. "Economic feasibility. That's the big discussion point. There are too many variables right now to know for certain."

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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