Jorge Moreira da Silva, Portugal’s energy and environment minister, told the Guardian: “It isn’t just an energy sector, it’s an industrial sector, an innovation sector and a regional development sector.” Moreira da Silva explained that Portugal has better wind and sun than other countries and so he is trying to make Portugal a key supplier of renewable energy to Europe. He called the cheaper energy combined with the fact that amount of jobs that can be created in Portugal as a result of wind energy a win-win. His plan also strategically sets Europe free from some if not all of the Russian gas that they currently use.
Giant wind turbines are now easier to build since they no longer require foundations and they can easily be placed in the deep ocean where the winds are the strongest on the planet. Some call wind turbines in the ocean “floating windfarms” and believe that this method should be used around the world to fuel every country.
The UK currently uses the most offshore windfarms but now, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in floating turbine research and development. Besides the fact that floating windfarms can be placed in deep ocean areas, these turbines can also be remotely controlled to move to a site that has the best wind. Morton Eeks has a plan to tow five 6MW turbines to the sea in Scotland as early as 2016.
(Source: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/23/drifting-off-the-coast-of-portugal-the-frontrunner-in-the-global-race-for-floating-windfarms)
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