PART IV.—OFFSHORE SITING OF 
ELECTRIC POWERPLANTS 
Electric powerplant siting has emerged recently as one of the most 
difficult, politically heated issues of our Nation. As we have grown 
richer and more populous, we have witnessed a mushrooming growth 
in demand for electric power. At present growth rates demand is 
doubling every 7 to 9 years! 
The resulting pressure on land resources for powerplant siting has 
become most noticeable in the heavily populated coastal regions of the 
country. The paper within addresses the possibility of using offshore 
sites as possible locations for these powerplants. 
A. OrrsHorE SITING or ELEctTRIc PowERPLANTS 
(By Dennis W. Ducsik, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 
ABSTRACT 
It is increasingly evident that electric utility companies are hard 
pressed to satisfy the rapidly multiplying demands of modern American 
society for electric power. While the technology associated with power 
generation is well developed, the industry has encountered major 
stumbling blocks involving social, political, and economic issues. The 
most severe difficulties have been associated with questions of environ- 
mental quality, public safety, and land use priorities in relation to the 
selection and approval of sites for new generating facilities. 
The siting of electric power facilities at offshore locations is an inter- 
esting concept that has emerged in the recent past and which seems to 
hold great potential for the effective solution of the land use problem 
while having extremely attractive additional features in the areas of 
environmental protection and public safety. A number of studies have 
indicated that this concept is within present technological capabilities 
and is potentially very attractive economically. 
What is needed is a careful evaluation of this concept as part of a 
coordinated effort at the Federal level directed toward long-range 
planning and the formulation of a national energy policy. At present, 
no governmental mechanisms have taken on the responsibility for the 
consideration of national priorities in this crucial issue of electric power 
production. Yet, this issue is closely related to the problems of environ- 
mental quality and efficient land use that are being addressed in the 
formulation of a national land use policy program. The proposed Land 
and Water Resources Council can foster effective land use management 
in relation to powerplant siting (especially in the coastal zone) by 
sponsoring a coordinated, in-depth study of the offshore concept as 
a viable alternative to land-based installations. 
(199) 
