Single huge offshore wind farm ‘could power the entire world’, researchers say

The entire world could be powered by a single offshore, deep sea wind farm, researchers have said – but it’d have to be rather large.

Specifically, it would be the size of India, researchers say – stretching over a million square miles.

Researchers Anna Possner and Ken Caldeira said, ‘On an annual mean basis, the wind power available in the North Atlantic could be sufficient to power the world.’

Wind speeds over the ocean are on average 70% higher than they are on land – and simulations show that large wind farms on sea could generate up to four times as much electricity as wind farms on land (6 watts per square metre as opposed to 1.5).

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Dr Possner said, ‘We found that giant ocean-based wind farms are able to tap into the energy of the winds throughout much of the atmosphere whereas wind farms onshore remain constrained by the near-surface wind resources.’

The proposed farm would have to be sited somewhere with harsh weather conditions, the researchers admit

Dr Possner said, ‘Nevertheless, even in the relative calm of summer, the upper geophysical limit on sustained wind power in the North Atlantic alone could be sufficient to supply all of Europe’s electricity.