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Written by GetWind
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Thursday, 10 July 2008 22:23 |
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The Europeans have relied on the sea for sustenance, and once again they are turning to the oceans to harvest energy from the wind. Denmark was the first in 1991 when they placed 11 turbines off the Atlantic coast. Since then, the concept of offshore wind energy has been gathering momentum, with 17 projects currently providing 600 MW of generating capacity off the shores of northern Europe. For Europe, this is just the beginning. According to the European Wind Energy Association, antoher 150 wind projects are being planned, targets that call for an additional 70,000 MW of off-shore capacity by the year 2020. Why the descrepancy between continents? Europeans have long enjoyed greater financial incentives for wind development. For example, Germany offers low interest loans for wind development. Ireland forgives taxation on a portion of utility company profits reinvested in renewable energy. However, geography plays a major roll. For more information, please visit NREL .
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