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Offshore Wind Energy: Its Potential Contribution to Mitigating Climate Change

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 | 9:30 am
James Manwell, Professor and Director James Manwell, Professor and Director
UMass Amherst, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Renewable Energy Research Laboratory
Wind Energy Center

Over the past two decades, on-shore wind energy technology has seen a ten-fold reduction in cost, and is now competitive with fossil and nuclear fuels for electric power generation in many areas of the United States. Wind energy installations in the United States have grown from about 1,800 MW in 1990 to over 35,000 MW by the close of 2009. In addition, a number of innovative offshore wind arrays will be constructed within the next decade.  This explosive growth is accompanied by a need for further technology development in critical areas such as grid penetration, reliability, cost, and performance. The University of Massachusetts Wind Energy Center is responding to the need for superior, cutting edge research solutions to these issues.