據(jù)美國油價(jià)網(wǎng)2022年8月18日報(bào)道，隨著《降低通貨膨脹法案》的通過，政策專家預(yù)測美國的清潔發(fā)電將大幅擴(kuò)張，其中包括3700億美元用于氣候和能源項(xiàng)目。美國下一個(gè)有望大幅增長的能源是海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電。 

如今，美國只有兩個(gè)正在運(yùn)營的海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電場，分別位于羅德島和弗吉尼亞州海岸以外附近海域，總發(fā)電能力為42兆瓦。相比之下，位于俄克拉何馬州的新特拉弗斯風(fēng)能中心擁有356臺(tái)渦輪機(jī)和998兆瓦的發(fā)電能力。但更多的項(xiàng)目正在開發(fā)中，主要是在大西洋沿岸。

政府在墨西哥灣確定了兩個(gè)海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電開發(fā)區(qū)域，到目前為止，這兩個(gè)區(qū)域一直被確定為生產(chǎn)石油和天然氣的區(qū)域。作為氣候戰(zhàn)略的一部分，政府制定了到2030年前部署30吉瓦海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電能力的目標(biāo)，這足以為1000萬家庭提供無碳電力。 

作為得克薩斯州的能源研究人員，專家認(rèn)為這是我們國家正在進(jìn)行的清潔能源轉(zhuǎn)型中一個(gè)令人興奮的新階段。墨西哥灣的海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電為這個(gè)擁有強(qiáng)大能源勞動(dòng)力和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的地理區(qū)域提供了一個(gè)獨(dú)特的機(jī)會(huì)，以幫助滿足社會(huì)對可靠的低碳能源的需求。 

為什么去海上? 

在過去的15年里，陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電在美國得到了顯著的發(fā)展，其中包括美國最大的陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電州得克薩斯州。陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電相對容易獲得許可證和選址，安裝成本低廉，資源豐富，無需燃料，低邊際運(yùn)營成本，這些都降低了消費(fèi)者的電力成本。風(fēng)力發(fā)電避免了大量的空氣污染、溫室氣體排放和冷卻用水需求——這些影響與燃煤、燃油或燃?xì)獍l(fā)電廠有關(guān)。

但陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電也有缺點(diǎn)。在夏季最熱的時(shí)候，風(fēng)速往往是最弱的，此時(shí)空調(diào)正努力讓人們保持涼爽。許多最好的風(fēng)力發(fā)電區(qū)都遠(yuǎn)離電力需求中心。例如，大多數(shù)風(fēng)電場都位于得克薩斯州西部的高原上，而且這些風(fēng)電場都是在該州花費(fèi)數(shù)十億美元修建長距離輸電線路，將電力輸送到需要電力的地方之后才建成的。

太陽能和電池可以解決其中一些問題。但在海上發(fā)電也有很多好處。正如陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電降低了消費(fèi)者的電力成本一樣，海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電預(yù)計(jì)也將起到同樣的作用。 

超過一半的美國人口居住在距離海岸50英里的范圍內(nèi)，所以海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電場離電力需求中心很近。這一點(diǎn)在美國墨西哥灣尤其明顯，這里是休斯敦和新奧爾良等大城市的所在地，也是石化設(shè)施和港口的集中地。電力公司可以使用海底電纜將風(fēng)電輸送到工業(yè)設(shè)施，而不是建造數(shù)百英里的架空電纜，這樣會(huì)引發(fā)通行權(quán)和土地使用權(quán)的糾紛。

重要的是，海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電是對陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電的補(bǔ)充。在一個(gè)炎熱的夏日午后，由于得克薩斯州西部的空氣速度放緩，沿海風(fēng)力抬升，有助于滿足夏季電力的高峰需求，并提高電網(wǎng)的可靠性。 

海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電市場在全球范圍內(nèi)已經(jīng)很強(qiáng)勁，但到目前為止，在美國幾乎還不存在。美國廣袤的土地刺激了陸上風(fēng)力發(fā)電的增長，但抑制了人們涌向海上的熱潮。

這種情況正在改變，在愛荷華州等主要的風(fēng)電大州，有更嚴(yán)格的限制規(guī)則，限制了渦輪機(jī)可以放置在住宅附近的距離，這推高了建筑成本，并限制了可接受地點(diǎn)的可用性。美國電網(wǎng)傳輸容量的限制也讓風(fēng)力發(fā)電電力進(jìn)入市場變得更加困難。 

墨西哥灣歡迎風(fēng)力發(fā)電

由于這些發(fā)展趨勢，加上氣候法案中增加對海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電支持的措施，美國海上風(fēng)電產(chǎn)業(yè)似乎終于迎來了黃金時(shí)期。我們認(rèn)為墨西哥灣是一個(gè)特別有吸引力的做生意的地方。

與北海、北大西洋和日本沿海地區(qū)的寒冷和艱苦條件相比，墨西哥灣的淺水深度、溫暖的溫度和平靜的海浪相對容易控制，這些地區(qū)已經(jīng)開始進(jìn)行海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電。水深達(dá)160英尺——目前固定底部風(fēng)力渦輪機(jī)的最大水深——在得克薩斯州東南部和路易斯安那州南部海岸延伸了近90英里，而在東北部的楠塔基特島和瑪莎葡萄園島只有40英里。

與已經(jīng)考慮開發(fā)的弗吉尼亞州海岸相比，墨西哥灣海底地形具有更均勻、更平緩的坡度。這意味著底部固定的風(fēng)力渦輪機(jī)可以在更多的地方使用，而不是減少復(fù)雜性的浮式系統(tǒng)。  

重要的是，墨西哥灣沿岸有一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的海上產(chǎn)業(yè)，為油氣生產(chǎn)商服務(wù)，有許多專業(yè)公司提供服務(wù)，如水下焊接、平臺(tái)制造、直升機(jī)和船只服務(wù)，將人員和設(shè)備運(yùn)送到海上。2019年，墨西哥灣的石油和天然氣生產(chǎn)支撐了約34.5萬個(gè)就業(yè)崗位。

墨西哥灣地區(qū)的風(fēng)力發(fā)電場可以利用現(xiàn)有的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。現(xiàn)有的海底電纜長達(dá)近1200英里，可以將風(fēng)電傳輸?shù)疥懮?。風(fēng)力發(fā)電也可以納入一個(gè)更大的能源系統(tǒng)，包括綠色氫氣的生產(chǎn)和儲(chǔ)存以及碳封存。 

促進(jìn)工人和社區(qū)的發(fā)展  

我們還認(rèn)為，海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電可以幫助推進(jìn)環(huán)境公平目標(biāo)。生產(chǎn)更清潔、無碳的電力將有助于取代加工化石燃料并利用它們發(fā)電的煉油廠和工廠。 這些設(shè)施多多少少損害了休斯敦等美國城市社區(qū)人們的健康。 

由于美國逐漸減少對化石燃料的依賴，墨西哥灣地區(qū)的風(fēng)力發(fā)電發(fā)展也為勞動(dòng)力的平穩(wěn)過渡提供了機(jī)會(huì)。路易斯安納州已經(jīng)開始著手制定本州水域海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電的規(guī)則，并與阿肯色州和俄克拉何馬州一起尋求聯(lián)邦資金，以建立一個(gè)區(qū)域性的清潔氫氣中心。

綠色意味著去海上 

政府對能源項(xiàng)目的審批速度是出了名的慢，而位于聯(lián)邦水域的風(fēng)電項(xiàng)目可能需要數(shù)年的準(zhǔn)備時(shí)間。但在州水域的項(xiàng)目——在大多數(shù)地區(qū)從海岸延伸到3海里，在得克薩斯州從海岸延伸到9海里——可以更快地進(jìn)行。 

這在很大程度上取決于得克薩斯州和路易斯安那州等能源大州是否看到了機(jī)會(huì)，將其作為能源領(lǐng)袖的聲譽(yù)擴(kuò)展到海上風(fēng)電領(lǐng)域。正如我們所看到的那樣，墨西哥灣地區(qū)的海上風(fēng)力發(fā)電熱潮將對該地區(qū)、美國和世界氣候都有好處。 

李峻 編譯自 美國油價(jià)網(wǎng)

原文如下：

Next US Energy Boom Could Be Wind Power in the Gulf of Mexico

With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind power.

Today the U.S. has just two operating offshore wind farms, off of Rhode Island and Virginia, with a combined generating capacity of 42 megawatts. For comparison, the new Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma has 356 turbines and a 998-megawatt generating capacity. But many more projects are in development, mostly along the Atlantic coast.

The Administration has identified two zones for offshore wind power development in the Gulf of Mexico, which up until now has been firmly identified with oil and gas production. As part of his climate strategy, President has set a goal for the deployment of 30 gigawatts (30,000 megawatts) of offshore wind generating capacity by 2030 – enough to power 10 million homes with carbon-free electricity.

As energy researchers based in Texas, we see this as an exciting new phase in our nation’s ongoing clean power transition. In our view, offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico presents a unique opportunity for a geographic region with a strong energy workforce and infrastructure to help meet society’s need for reliable low-carbon energy.

Why go offshore?

Wind power on land has seen remarkable growth in the U.S. over the last 15 years, including in Texas, the top wind-generating state in the nation. Wind power’s comparative ease of permitting and siting, affordable installation costs, abundant resources, free fuel and low marginal operating costs have reduced electricity costs for consumers. And wind power avoids significant amounts of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and water demand for cooling – impacts associated with power plants that burn coal, oil or natural gas.

But onshore wind has downsides. Winds often are weakest in the hottest hours of summer, when air conditioners are working hard to keep people cool. And many of the best wind energy zones are far from electricity demand centers. For example, most wind farms here in the Lone Star State are located on the high plains in west Texas, and were only built after the state spent billions of dollars on long-distance transmission lines to move their power to where it’s needed.

Solar power and batteries can solve some of these problems. But generating wind offshore also offers many benefits.

Just as onshore wind lowered electricity costs for consumers, offshore wind is expected to do the same.

More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of a coast, so offshore wind sites are close to electricity demand centers. This is especially true in the Gulf of Mexico, which is home to major cities such as Houston and New Orleans and a large concentration of petrochemical facilities and ports. Power companies can use subsea cables to bring wind energy to industrial facilities, instead of building hundreds of miles of overhead wires, with associated right-of-way and land access disputes.

importantly, offshore wind complements onshore wind. As air speeds slow in west Texas on a hot summer afternoon, coastal winds pick up, helping to meet summer peak demand and improving grid reliability.

The offshore wind market is already robust globally, but until now has been practically non-existent in the U.S. Abundant land here has spurred growth of onshore wind, but inhibited a rush to the water.

That’s changing with tighter setback rules in leading wind states like Iowa that limit how close to homes turbines can be placed, which are driving up construction costs and limiting the availability of acceptable sites. Transmission capacity limits on the U.S. power grid are also making it harder to move wind-generated electrons to market.

Welcome to the Gulf, y'all

Thanks to these development trends, plus measures in the climate bill that increase support for offshore wind, it looks as though a U.S. offshore wind industry is finally ready for prime time. We see the Gulf of Mexico as an especially attractive place to do business.

Compared to cold and bitter conditions in regions like the North Sea, the North Atlantic and coastal Japan, where offshore wind generation is already happening, the Gulf’s shallower water depths, warmer temperatures and calmer waves are relatively easy to manage. Water depths up to 160 feet – currently the maximum depth for fixed-bottom wind turbines – extend nearly 90 miles off the coasts of southeast Texas and southern Louisiana, compared with only about 40 miles off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in the Northeast.

The Gulf’s seafloor topography features a more even and gentle slope than areas already under consideration for development off the coast of Virginia. This means that fixed-bottom wind turbines can be used in more places, rather than floating systems, which reduces complexity.

importantly, the Gulf Coast has a robust offshore industry that was established to serve oil and gas producers, with many specialized companies offering services such as underwater welding, platform manufacturing and helicopter and boat services to get people and equipment to sea. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production supported an estimated 345,000 jobs in 2019.

Wind farms in the Gulf can leverage existing infrastructure. There are nearly 1,200 miles of existing subsea power cables that could transfer wind energy to shore. Wind generation could also be incorporated into a larger energy system that includes green hydrogen generation and storage and carbon sequestration.

A boost for workers and vulnerable communities

We also believe that offshore wind energy can help advance environmental justice goals. Generating more clean, carbon-free electricity will help to displace refineries and plants that process fossil fuels and generate power from them. These facilities disproportionately harm the health of communities of color in cities like Houston and across the U.S..

Wind power development in the Gulf also offers an opportunity for a smooth labor transition as the U.S. gradually reduces its reliance on fossil fuels. Louisiana is already moving to set rules for offshore wind in state waters, and is seeking federal funding together with Arkansas and Oklahoma for a regional clean hydrogen hub.

Green means go

Permitting for energy projects is notoriously slow at the federal level, and wind energy projects in federal waters may require multi-year lead times. But projects in state waters – extending up to three nautical miles from shore in most areas, and nine miles from shore in Texas – could proceed more rapidly.

Much depends on whether energy states like Texas and Louisiana see opportunities to extend their reputations as energy leaders into offshore wind. As we see it, an offshore wind boom in the Gulf would be good for the region, the nation and the world’s climate.