April 22, 2o24 — Offshore wind farms are touted as the energy wave of the future. As we venture further into the era of renewable energy, offshore wind farms have been celebrated as beacons of progress, promising to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and curb carbon emissions. This narrative, championed by government officials and wind farm companies alike, paints an effervescent picture of a sustainable future. Yet, the gap between this optimistic vision and the sobering reality is wider than many might expect. The reality is that offshore wind may increase the total amount of emissions, perhaps even exceeding current levels as the unpredictability of wind forces existing fossil fuel plants to work overtime.
Studies in the Netherlands, Ireland, Colorado, and Texas have all found that adding wind farms causes existing fossil fuel plants to produce more CO2. As the amount of wind farms increases, the total CO2 released also increases, making emissions as high or even higher than they would have been with no wind farms. No study has contradicted this finding.
When discussing electricity, it is important to remember two fundamental characteristics. First, electricity cannot be stored at reasonable cost or in any significant amount. Second, the amount of electricity being produced must, at each instant, equal the amount being consumed, or the system will collapse. This means that the output of the fossil generating plants must vary their output to match the wind gusts and lulls.