Oregon's Subduction Zone

Offshore wind is a very bad idea on the West coast

years ago there was a 9.0 earthquake centered off the Washington and Oregon coast, sending a tsunami that was several stories high when it hit Japan. This Cascadia subduction zone is an extension of the San Andreas fault.

Notice the bold red/pink/yellow line - it follows the “ring of fire” of volcanic activity. The west coast is not like the east - the Cascade Range is full of volcanos.

It’s expected to happen again.

The red bullseye is showing the massive fault lines that are just offshore from Washington and Oregon. Subterranean plates are sliding under the plate we sit on.

What would it be like to be out there floating in the midst of a 9.0 earthquake?

The reason the wind turbines would be floating is because the ocean off the west coast is too deep to base the wind towers on the sea floor, unlike the east coast.

We’re about due for another earthquake. What would this do to 60 ton floating offshore wind turbines, their dozen or so anchor chains for each turbine, and their 12 MegaWatt electric power cables that would be connected to a power distribution station and to the shore?

It would be foolish indeed to build offshore wind power off the west coast.

One other thought - we have sea otters in the Pacific. I love them. They were almost driven to extinction during the peak of the fur trade, because their fur is the most prized of all. Now they’ve made a comeback - but I’m not sure what impact floating wind turbines would have on them. Have they even considered that?