If there has ever been an administration more tone deaf than Biden’s, I would be hard pressed to name it.
I recently reported that the plug was pulled on two large-scale windfarm projects off the coast of New Jersey. The reason boiled down to Bidenomics: A combination of inflation, escalating materials costs, and supply change challenges.
Shell also recently ended its involvement with another wind farm project.
Shell’s finance chief said on Thursday the firm had exited a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the planned SouthCoast windfarm off the coast of Massachusetts, agreeing to pay a penalty rather than face rising costs for building the project.Energy firms from BP (BP.L) to Orsted (ORSTED.CO) have announced hefty writedowns in recent days for their U.S. windfarm projects in the face of high inflation.
Now, rational and flexible people would probably reconsider investing in schemes that appear to be collapsing rapidly. But not Biden, who is doubling down on the green energy insanity.
The Interior Department on Tuesday approved a plan to install up to 176 giant wind turbines off the coast of Virginia, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm yet.The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, to be built by Dominion Energy, is the fifth commercial-scale offshore wind project approved by the Biden administration. If completed, the 2.6-gigawatt wind farm would produce enough electricity to power more than 900,000 homes, without creating any of the carbon dioxide emissions that are heating the planet.The project is expected to provide about 900 jobs each year during the construction phase and support an estimated 1,100 annual jobs once it begins operating. “More progress and economic opportunity are on the horizon as we put to use every tool available to bring offshore wind benefits to American workers and communities nationwide,” said Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser.
Team Biden will continue to throw more of the American taxpayers’ money at wind energy, despite the continuing problems, insisting that the mad scheme will eventually work.
It’s worth remembering that Left’s defense of renewablee energy subsidies has always been that they were required to “level the playing field.” The government would need to support renewable energy for a few years, until it could establish equal footing with traditional energy sources, at which point it would become self-sustaining and take off. The less frequently articulated part of that plot is government using its coercive regulatory powers to restrain the ability of the resource sector to really compete against renewables, ensuring that it is always fighting with one hand tied behind its back. But one thing this report makes plain is that renewables are losing even their own unfair fight.A further injection of cash would probably obscure the economic and practical deficiencies of wind and solar for a little while longer, but they won’t go away. Meanwhile, at a time of economic uncertainty, a bailout would have the effect of raising both taxes and — in the longer term — energy prices, and at a time comparable in many ways to 2008. It would risk kicking the political hornets nest once again, with unpredictable consequences.Only a foolish, short-sighted White House would even consider this plan. So expect them to do it.
However, this play will only lead to more inflation and green energy failures. Biden will continue to chase his windmills with fervor, as the Don Quixote for the new millennium.
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