Greening the Red, White and Blue

Turbine Farm Bluewater Wind

Since becoming the first state to ratify the Constitution, Delaware hasn’t exactly retained its leader-of-the-pack status. But now, as every state scrambles to shore up its economic future by investing in alternative energy, Delaware may be the site of another triumphant first. This week, a local energy company announced that Delaware will be the first to invest in offshore wind power.

The park will provide 16 percent of Delmarva Power’s energy, enough to power 50,000 homes for 25 years, at a construction cost of $1.6 billion. The wind farm will be constructed by Bluewater Wind, a company that built a similar offshore wind farm on the coast of Denmark. Delmarva hopes to begin construction of the 150 turbine parks soon, and estimates that the construction could be completed in as little as 4 years.

Even though the turbines sit on 250 foot tall poles, they won't be visible from shore. Despite providing only a small fraction of the state’s total energy, Delawareans hope that the wind farm is just the beginning of an eco-leadership role that would make their forefathers proud.

Via CNN

And check out PopSci's complete coverage of the future of the environment at popsci.com/futurecity.