Wind energy executives are skeptical of the Biden administration’s plan to significantly expand offshore wind power in the next several years due to rising costs and the slow permitting of offshore leases, according to the Financial Times.
The Biden administration aims to grow U.S. offshore wind generation from less than 1 gigawatt currently to 30 gigawatts by the end of 2030 as part of its aggressive green energy transition, according to a White House fact sheet. [bold, links added]
However, wind executives are concerned that the administration’s target is too ambitious as projects are constantly delayed by a permitting bottleneck and expensive leases, the FT reported.
“If there continues to be significant delays and projects that are already in the pipeline getting pushed back — then it will be more difficult to meet that 30 by 30 target,” Molly Morris, incoming U.S. offshore wind chief at Norwegian energy firm Equinor, told the FT.
Various energy projects including offshore wind developments face difficulties in receiving correct permitting from the government, which delays construction and increases costs, according to the FT.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia proposed a permitting bill in September that could have accelerated the federal permitting of key wind, solar, and fossil fuel projects; however, the measure was pulled from a recent government funding bill after it failed to gain sufficient support in the Senate.
“Our concern is that this could end up being a very difficult bottleneck,” Morris said. “If we don’t get these projects that are in the forefront … permitted, then it’s very difficult to really get this industry off the ground.”
Manchin’s bill would have also given the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) more power to expedite the permitting of transmission lines that transport electricity produced by offshore wind and other renewables to urban areas.
Roughly 77 gigawatts of offshore wind are awaiting transmission, according to the Department of Energy’s August wind energy report.
Executives also claim prices of federal leases for offshore wind developments are too high, which makes it difficult for wind developers to make profits, the FT reported.
The federal New York Bight offshore wind auction, which offered six lease areas totaling over 488,000 acres, received $4.37 billion total in winning bids, representing the nation’s highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in history, according to an Interior Department press release.
Read rest at Daily Caller
Well, just another example of when “blind ideology” bumps up against COLD reality. Since most of the folks in this current Administration have little or NO practical experience in the business world, they approach challenges “backwards.” They set pre-disposed “mandates” and then expect to be able to just MAGICALLY execute their wishes & dreams. The energy sector, in particular, is driven by the calculus of PHYSICS, not social experimentation. So, you can set a totally unrealistic goal of 30 GW of offshore power by 2030, but that does not mean you can IMPLEMENT it. So, rather than exploring options, looking at actual costs v. benefits analysis, materials & technical constraints, you “bypass” all that with a pre-determined outcome. Problem is, that is not how the REAL WORLD works. Hopefully, some moderate, sensible Congressional candidates will be chosen by the elctorate on Nov. 8. We need to put the brakes on these LUDICROUS energy initiatives before these zealots COLLAPSE our domestic energy system. Energy POVERTY is not a good look…
King Canute took his entourage to the sea shore and sat on a chair. He commanded the tide to stop rising. When his feet got wet he told his people that was proof that he was a mere mortal and had no divine powers. Do not expect such humility from the pretenders in the White House or 10 Downing Street or 24 Sussex Street. They will not cop to wishful thinking.
So Biden the Bumbler decrees offshore Wind Turbines and the Eco-Freaks wont lift aa finger to oppose this all because of their idiotic ideology
You notice they only talk about how many gigawatts of electricity could be generated by these wind turbines but no mention of how little gigawatt-hours are actually produced over a year and showing how often it gets to anywhere near the nameplate production? What’s the average and how often is it at or near zero?
U.S. gov’mt can’t get out of its own way. Deliberately slowed down all energy permitting, just to catch the green energy projects in that same net. Opps.
While reading this, I’m thinking the world is going mad faster each day.
Off shore wind – that is going to end up on the bottom of the ocean during the next big storm. And the cost – this will be horrendous all of which will be passed on to you and me via our electricity bills.
There is one advantage having these winmills at sea. When they catch fire, no harm will be done when they fall over.
We need to keep in mind that off shore wind power is twice as expensive as on shore, and on shore wind power is extremely expensive.