US Offshore Wind Energy: Moving Power to the People2022年4月13日关键词：美国、海上风电、ENRFor the last six years, five yellow-based turbines lined up in shallow water off the coast of Rhode Island with just 30 MW in total power capacity have been the visual icon of U.S. offshore wind energy.过去的六年里，五个黄色基础的风力发电机排列在罗得岛（Rhode Island）海岸的浅水区，总容量仅有30MW，作为美国海上风电的可以看到的形象。
The Block Island Wind Farm was completed in late 2016 to link the 110-sq-mile island to the state power grid for the first time via one 25-mile underwater cable that no one paid much attention to—other than 1,000 full-time residents and thousands more summer visitors who gained a clean and more price-stable energy alternative to a polluting and expensive diesel system, and fast internet service thrown in for a bonus.布洛克岛海上风电场在2016年末建设完成，第一次通过25英里长的海底电缆连接了110平方英里的海岛和州电网，这一点没有人会在意，反而是1000名长驻居民和上千名夏季旅游者获得了一个清洁的和价格更加稳定的电力，替代了一个充满污染并且昂贵的柴油系统，还有额外的快速网络服务。
The tiny project’s connection, which now allows excess power sales to other state users, made its mark in enabling startup of the nation’s first commercial offshore wind energy producer.这个小的工程连接，让多余电力销售给其它的州用户，标志着美国第一个商业海上风电制造者的启动。
The stakes now are much higher for U.S. offshore wind as new technology and politics, demand for power and climate change urgency push states and the Biden administration to scale up plans for dramatically larger systems that will be built much farther offshore—as far as 84 miles—creating bigger challenges not just to connect electricity to the closest users, but also to create transmission links that can move it efficiently across regions.对于美国海上风电这个风险现在很高，因为新技术和政策，以及对电力和气候变化的紧急迫使州政府和拜登政府加速规划超大型系统，系统将建设在更远海里，远达84英里，创造更大的挑战，挑战不仅是向最近的用户连接电力，更是创造可以跨区域高效地输送的输电连接。
“These projects are right up on the edge of physics, with the largest turbines farther out to sea and using the highest voltage cables, and most have never been put in service before,” says Kent Herzog, a senior managing director.
