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Google and investors Good Energies and Marubeni are trying to kick-start a ground-breaking project to build a 350-mile cable on the east coast to power offshore wind farms. When built, it will be one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S., and is an example of how a few pioneer investors can seed a market. But how do the gigawatts, dollars, and price points break down? Here's Google's offshore wind investment by the numbers: 6 GW (or 6,000 MW): The amount of clean power capacity that could be generated by the offshore wind farms that would be built next to the wind power transmission backbone. <...> 60,000 MW: The potential offshore wind capacity of the entire Mid-Atlantic region. 1.9 million: The number of homes that could be powered by offshore wind farms that would be built next to the transmission line backed by Google. Tens of millions: The amount of the initial investment from Google, Good Energies, and Marubeni. <...> $2,500 per kilowatt to $5,800 per kilowatt: The high capital costs of offshore wind power from 2007 through 2009, according to the DOE. 9 cents to 25 cents per kilowatt hour: The average price of offshore wind farm power. <...> Under 5 cents per kilowatt hour: The average price of coal power (without factoring in the price of carbon and other environment costs). <...> 20 percent: The percentage of electricity that the DOE wants to come from wind power in the U.S. by 2030. <...> 43,000 jobs: The amount of jobs created if all of the offshore wind capacity in the U.S. was tapped.
6 GW (or 6,000 MW): The amount of clean power capacity that could be generated by the offshore wind farms that would be built next to the wind power transmission backbone.
<...>
60,000 MW: The potential offshore wind capacity of the entire Mid-Atlantic region.
1.9 million: The number of homes that could be powered by offshore wind farms that would be built next to the transmission line backed by Google.
Tens of millions: The amount of the initial investment from Google, Good Energies, and Marubeni.
$2,500 per kilowatt to $5,800 per kilowatt: The high capital costs of offshore wind power from 2007 through 2009, according to the DOE.
9 cents to 25 cents per kilowatt hour: The average price of offshore wind farm power.
Under 5 cents per kilowatt hour: The average price of coal power (without factoring in the price of carbon and other environment costs).
20 percent: The percentage of electricity that the DOE wants to come from wind power in the U.S. by 2030.
43,000 jobs: The amount of jobs created if all of the offshore wind capacity in the U.S. was tapped.
... Google has long been excited about the idea of white spaces. In a 2008 blog post, co-founder Larry Page imagined the possibilities of these unused signals: We will soon have "Wi-Fi on steroids," since these spectrum signals have much longer range than today's Wi-Fi technology and broadband access can be spread using fewer base stations, resulting in better coverage at lower cost. And it is wonderful that the FCC has adopted the same successful unlicensed model used for Wi-Fi, which has resulted in a projected 1 billion Wi-Fi chips being produced this year. Now that the FCC has set the rules, I'm sure that we'll see similar growth in products to take advantage of this spectrum. If the Google/Spectrum Bridge trial goes well, we may see ultra-powerful white space wireless pop up in more populated areas. That's good news for Google, which has invested in the smart grid through multiple ventures, including its own PowerMeter software. It's also promising for anyone living in a remote area without wireless. Thanks to white space, wireless may soon have no boundaries.
We will soon have "Wi-Fi on steroids," since these spectrum signals have much longer range than today's Wi-Fi technology and broadband access can be spread using fewer base stations, resulting in better coverage at lower cost. And it is wonderful that the FCC has adopted the same successful unlicensed model used for Wi-Fi, which has resulted in a projected 1 billion Wi-Fi chips being produced this year. Now that the FCC has set the rules, I'm sure that we'll see similar growth in products to take advantage of this spectrum.
If the Google/Spectrum Bridge trial goes well, we may see ultra-powerful white space wireless pop up in more populated areas. That's good news for Google, which has invested in the smart grid through multiple ventures, including its own PowerMeter software. It's also promising for anyone living in a remote area without wireless. Thanks to white space, wireless may soon have no boundaries.
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