New York-based Winergy, LLC has submitted preliminary plans to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that may one day become a windmill farm located in the Atlantic Ocean off of Delaware's coast. The 67-square-mile windmill farm would generate an alternative energy source, and the proposal has caught the attention of many local, state and federal officials.

Sussex County Council member George Cole said he would like to learn more about the proposal before offering a position simply because he does not know enough about it.

"I'm not a scientist," Cole said. "Energy is a necessary evil. I'm sure they get the same opposition when they want to put them on a hillside. I'm going to wait and see."

Winergy officials propose to construct 306 windmills (turbines) over a 67-square-mile area 3.5 miles off the coast of Delaware. The windmill farm would extend south from just below Dewey Beach all the way to the state line. Each windmill would reach 426 feet (nearly 43 stories tall) above water at its highest point. They would be placed one-third to one-half-mile apart and would measure 30 feet in circumference.

Cole said he wants to know how a windmill farm would work in storms and the effect it would have on ocean wave activity.

"It's not like oil rigs out there," he said. "If there is no way to pollute the water, then I'd be interested in hearing more about it."

Cole's comments reflected those of U.S. Rep. Michael Castle. Elizabeth Wenk, Castle's press secretary, said the representative was "cautiously optimistic."

She said Castle is following the proposed alternative energy site request, but he has some concerns. According to Wenk, Castle wants to know if the proposed windmill farm will have any effect on migratory birds along the Atlantic flyway. Sussex County is located along the flyway, which extends from northwestern Canada to South America.

Bob Link, permit compliance officer with Winergy, said he has submitted preliminary documents to the Army Corps of Engineers in Pennsylvania for the possible construction of a windmill farm off the coast of Delaware. The project, if Winergy chooses to further pursue it, would require permits from some 40 agencies and would take about three years before any construction could begin. Construction itself, he added, could take an additional two to three years.

However, Link said a windmill farm--either off the coast of Delaware or Long Island, N.Y. (a location the company is also considering)--would create a cleaner, alternative energy source.

"This will be cleaner and the air quality better," said Link. The power generated by the windmills could possibly be used to supplement the Indian River Power Plant, he added, if the parties involved could agree on the particulars.

Link said something needs to be done to improve the energy situation in this country while cleaning up the environment. He is convinced windmills are the best current answer.

"Edison took coal to light a lightbulb. Prior to that, whale oil was used," he said.

At that time, Link added, coal was progressive and environmentally responsible considering the information people of that time had.

"If they hadn't used coal, whales would be extinct," he said. "Now, we can do better."

Since the deregulation of the power industry, Link said opportunities have been created for the development of alternative energy sources. Windmill farms are already in use in California, but they are located on land. Europe has windmill farms off its coastlines in various places, including Copenhagen, Denmark.

Not only have the windmills addressed a need for alternative energy in Denmark, Link said, but tourism has increased in that area as visitors flock to that country to see firsthand the offshore energy farms.

Winergy President Dennis Quaranta agreed the windmill farm construction process is long and detailed, but said he believes it is worth the effort to decrease this country's reliance on foreign fuels. He also believes it is time for the United States to begin seriously exploring alternative energy possibilities like European countries have already done.

"They are not smarter or brighter than us," Quaranta said. "But I think it's our turn [to build the wind mills]."

According to Link, from the shoreline, the windmills will each "look like a foot or two tall" to the naked eye.

The blades on each windmill extend 330 feet from tip to tip, according to Link. Their size is slightly larger than a football field turning slowly in the wind.

To construct the windmills, Link said a hole would be drilled into the ocean floor and a metal sleeve would be placed inside the hole. Another length of metal would be placed on top, then filled with cement, sand or rocks, depending on the engineering design, he added.

"All of that is site-specific," Link said, and that information would become available as the permits were obtained.

Link said the windmills would have no effect on the tides or currents, and the energy produced would reach just over 1,101 megawatts. The Indian River Power Plant produces 784 megawatts.

Link said the windmills can sustain 150-mile-per-hour winds and have the capability to shut off automatically.

If the windmill farm were constructed off of Delaware's coast, state and local agencies could collect taxes from the company in the event the energy was brought ashore and sold to a local energy provider.

The currently proposed project would also create 25 to 35 year-round employment positions.

Link said other benefits to the region the windmill farm would generate include improved fishing conditions as marine life gathered around the windmills. The farm would also act as a manmade reef.

While plans for a windmill farm off the coast of Delaware are still in the early stages, Winergy officials said they could submit a formal application for the project to the Army Corps of Engineers within the next month.

Reach Roxann Moore at (302) 537-1881, ext. 108, or by e-mail at mailto:rmoore@smgpo.gannett.com

Originally published Wednesday, January 22, 2003