The transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy will include innovation. The Atlantic Wind Connection is a proposal that would use 350 miles of undersea cable to link groups of wind farms situated about 12 to 15 miles off the coast between New Jersey and Virginia. The wide dispersion would allow power to be captured where and when the wind blows at any given moment eliminating electric grid destabilization caused by the intermittent calms. The turbines clustered out to sea in federally designated areas would increase their productivity with the stronger off-shore wind and reduce what some folks consider sight pollution associated with the large machines. New technology would allow each unit to generate 12-megawatts per turbine. That’s an increase of 2-megawatts per tower more than the last generation. Politicians aren’t on board, yet - but Google has already offered financial backing.
Source: Eliza Strickland, Sierra magazine, September-October, 2014