Bill Nye to CNN: US Offshore Oil and Gas Companies Should Pursue Offshore Wind

Jennifer Runyon
  -

In an interview with CNN, TV and radio personality Bill Nye “The Science Guy” responded to the devastating flooding in Louisiana this August by urging offshore oil and gas companies to use their equipment and expertise to build out the U.S. offshore wind industry that is just getting started in the country.

While America is just getting started with offshore wind, by contrast Europe had 2,488 turbines installed and grid connected by January 2015 with 12 other projects under construction, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Once those projects are connected to the grid there will be a cumulative total of 10.9 GW in 86 wind farms in 11 European countries.

The success of the offshore wind industry in Europe could easily be replicated in the U.S. and serves as an excellent business opportunity for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Listen to the entire fascinating interview below or skip to 3.56 to hear his call for action.

For more on this topic, check out Renewable Energy World’s Special Report: How Offshore Oil and Gas Companies Can Retool to Supply the Offshore Wind Industry in the U.S.

Previous articleWind Power Lifting Rig Builders Past Oil’s Downturn
Next articleCuba Turns to Foreign Investors to Boost Renewable Energy
Jennifer Runyon
Jennifer Runyon
Jennifer Runyon has been studying and reporting about the world's transition to clean energy since 2007. As editor of the world's largest renewable energy publication, Renewable Energy World, she observed, interviewed experts about, and reported on major clean energy milestones including Germany's explosive growth of solar PV, the formation and development of the U.S. onshore wind industry, the U.K. offshore wind boom, China's solar manufacturing dominance, the rise of energy storage, the changing landscape for utilities and grid operators and much, much, more. You can reach her at Jennifer.Runyon@ClarionEvents.com Today, in addition to managing content on Renewable Energy World and POWERGRID International, she also serves as the conference advisory committee chair for DISTRIBUTECH, a globally recognized conference and expo for the transmission and distribution industry. In her role, she works in close cooperation with a large team of committed industry executives to shape the educational content for the event. She also helps assemble the renewable energy content for POWERGEN and helped launch the first Grid-Scale Storage Summit, a co-located event at HYDROVISION International. She has traveled to Germany to see onshore and offshore wind installations; Iceland to see geothermal energy in action; and France to see cutting-edge smart grids. In the U.S. she has visited and reported about bioenergy power plants in Florida, both large-scale and small-scale hydropower; and multiple wind farms, solar PV, and CSP installations. Formerly, she was the managing editor of Innovate Forum, an online publication that focused on innovation in manufacturing. Prior to that she was the managing editor at Desktop Engineering magazine. In 2008, she won an "Eddy Award" for her editing work on an article about solar trees in Vienna. In 2010, RenewableEnergyWorld.com was awarded an American Business Media Neal Award for its eNewsletters, which were created under her direction. She holds a Master's Degree in English Education from Boston University and a BA in English from the University of Virginia.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

No posts to display