There is nothing like the promise of readily available and bountiful energy in our resource-strapped world. Based on data determining that average wind speeds at sea are higher than on land, the modern offshore wind farms promise to be exceptionally energy efficient. When the weather is calm they also look fetchingly beautiful:

“There are other offshore wind parks in the world but everybody agrees that Horn’s Reef is the first ’real’ offshore wind park because of its size and its placement in the North Sea. So far, all other offshore parks have been placed close to land in protected waters“ says project manager Jens Bonefeldt. “The North Sea is considered to be one of the roughest stretches of water in the world.”

at sea depths of 200-300 meters.

(not counting nasty "global warming" storm surprises)

- The pictures above show a spectacular failure of a turbine during a storm in Lichtenau, Germany (Thanks to Wilfred Heck for supplying these photographs).

In 2002 the world’s largest offshore wind farm was constructed at the Danish west coast. The Horns Rev wind farm is sited 14-20 km into the North Sea, west of Blåvands Huk, and represents the first phase in the Danish Government’s ambitious plan - to have wind turbines with a total capacity of 4000 MW in Danish waters before 2030.