Companies propose deep-water wind farms off Hawaii shores

HONOLULU (AP) — As Hawaii pushes to meet its aggressive renewable energy goals, two companies have proposed offshore wind turbine projects for federal waters off Oahu.

A.W. Hawaii Wind, a Texas company that's a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy, is proposing two offshore floating wind farms, each generating about 400 megawatts of energy with 50 turbines.

The floats would be anchored to the ocean floor, and undersea cables would transfer the energy to power plants on land.

There are many challenges to taking on a project of this scope in Hawaii, including cultural and environmental issues, deep water, a relatively small electric grid, and unexploded ordnance in the ocean waters surrounding the island, said Jens Borsting Petersen, owner of A.W. Hawaii Wind.