2024 Begins with Another Big Offshore Wind Project About to be Scrapped
The Biden economy is the nightmare destroying Biden’s green energy dreams.
As I noted at the end of 2023, we may have reached the “sudden” point in the collapse of green energy. In the waning months of last year:
- Danish energy developer Orsted scrapped two large offshore wind power projects off the coast of New Jersey.
- Plans to put a wind farm in Lake Erie have been put on ice.
- Siemens Gamesa, a Spanish-German wind engineering company suspended a plan to build a $200 million turbine blade factory at Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal.
As we enter into 2024, the pace of green energy failure is not slowing.
European energy firms Equinor (EQNR.OL) and BP (BP.L) terminated their agreement to sell power to New York state from their proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, citing rising inflation, higher borrowing costs, and supply chain issues.
“This agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities,” Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday, in an apparent reference to a new offshore wind solicitation launched by New York in November.
The solicitation allows companies to exit old contracts and re-offer projects at higher prices. The winners of an expedited solicitation for offshore wind will be announced in February.
An Equinor spokesperson declined to comment on the bid strategy for the 1,260-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 2 project, but said it was “carefully assessing” the solicitation and was “encouraged by the state’s commitment to offshore wind.”
However, hope still resides in the hearts of the green energy robber barons. The firms’ are hoping for rebids that will allow them to proceed with the construction of the Empire 2 Wind Project.
They did, however, indicate the possibility of a rebid, at a higher price, on the proposed 1.2-gigawatt facility, which was slated to go off the south coast of Long Island and provide power for hundreds of thousands of homes downstate.
The news could impact the Capital Region as the wind towers for Empire 2 are supposed to be manufactured at a yet-unbuilt facility at the Port of Albany.
While officials from wind developers Equinor and BP stressed they planned a “reset” and may still participate in a current bid offering, news of the contract termination will, at a minimum, mean a delay in New York’s ambitious plans to decarbonize its power grid.
This raises further questions about when and if the Port of Albany will build its wind tower facility, which is stalled amid rising costs.
Beege Welborn of Hot Air explains that trouble was on the horizon as early as last October.
The companies contracted for the proposed “Empire Wind” – European “energy giants” Equinor and BP (British Petroleum) – hadn’t put a stick in the water yet, but had come to the cold calculation that what they had agreed to when they bid for the project as far as what they’d receive for the power produced, etc., wasn’t going to begin to cover the costs of actually building it out.
So they, along with developers of several other projects along the NY/NJ coast in the same financial squeeze, petitioned the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) for increases in the offtakes and allowable charges to consumers.
Apparently, the rate adjustments were over 50% higher than the ones initially proposed at the state of the project. In a shocking move, New York Public Service Commission took pity on its customer and nixed the increase.
And here we are today.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (Rep., NY04) said the companies demonstrated little interest in the concerns of local citizens who live along the coastline that was slated for the project. He notes, “Equinor’s failure was a problem of their own creation.”
Equinor refused to listen and respond to the concerns of #NY04 residents while developing their Empire Wind 2 offshore wind turbine plan.
Equinor’s failure was a problem of their own creation. pic.twitter.com/xgDrvQLd48
— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) January 5, 2024
The Biden economy is the nightmare destroying Biden’s green energy dreams.
Canceled offshore wind projects, imperiled solar factories, fading demand for electric vehicles.
A year after passage of the largest climate change legislation in U.S. history, meant to touch off a boom in American clean energy development, economic realities are fraying President Joe Biden’s agenda.
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Comments
It could be argued that Biden, himself, is a “wind project.”
Same as with a golfer, the most dangerous place to stand is behind him.
I’m waiting see what happens to the projector SE CT; Orsted is a part owner.
Project off SE CT.
Danged autocorrupt!
An “I’ll” wind. Hopefully to soon blow out.
Damn spell check!
When the cash is flowing, you can afford to be woke and spend money on stupid things.
When the cash isn’t flowing, you you wake up and become a conservative.
I always say that “sustainability” and “environmentalism” are first world problems.
Wind turbines destroy marine habitat. Generate negative cash flow. What’s the benefit?
SHUT IT DOWN.
Where I live in Iowa, wind energy made up 62% of the state’s generated electricity in 2022. It is now even higher. My monthly electricity bills, including air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter, averages $90 per month year round. I live on a 5 acre farm. I am happy.
Except that its subsidized by taxpayers or it would fail. Not to mention components are Made in China. While the turbines are a bird blender.
I have to wonder at what point bird populations will collapse from the turbine deaths. Some of the numbers are so high.
Consider the source you are replying to.
Congratulations, JR, you’re a successful parasite. Consider that every single aspect of the wind power used in Iowa has been heavily subsidized by other people. There are the construction subsidies, and if you follow the funding you’ll see that every single time the subsidies are even minutely threatened the AWEA screams bloody murder, and shrieks that not a single wind energy project will go forward until the subsidies are restored…and they are correct, nobody would build these money-wasters without the subsidies.
The power output itself is also directly federally subsidized to the tune of 1.5 to 2.5 cents per kw-hr.
Then there is the indirect subsidy that “renewable” sources aren’t required to supply reactive power to the grid. So other generation sources have to make it up.
Finally consider the fact that while most power plants are designed for 50 or 100 year life, the bird-choppers typically are designed for 20 years…but rarely make it. Composite blade failures and catastrophic fires in the gearbox/generators are also common.
So enjoy your “cheap” power, provided by others, while you can. And contemplate the fact that on a cold winter day when the wind isn’t blowing in the state you are still about 97% powered by fossil fuels.
Does that price include proper amortization of the cost of building the turbines, considering that their useful life can be expected to be less than 20 years, and also provision for the cost of properly disposing of them when they reach the end of that useful life?
Biden green new deal is trillion dollar fraud. Won’t lower temps by one degree.
If these projects were feasible, no government funding would be needed. They don’t work and are too expensive.
So the project continues until reality hits and the subsidies stop.
Anyone “benefitting” is at the peak of an immense Ponzi scheme.
The thing destroying the green energy dream is that green energy is not sufficient, nor is it reliable, but it is very expensive.
But who got paid before it got shut down?
“Public Works”
— Somebody makes out on building them, on the claim that some other bodies will make out later, from using it. That second part isn’t nearly so reliable.
— Building the thing creates a permanent wealth transfer and client constituency. Sometimes they say that out loud. Sometimes they slip up and say that out loud to the wrong people. (See “… basket of deplorables.”)
— The Visionary Overlords(tm) get to be all performatively active talking about their concern and big plan. When it doesn’t work, they;ve moved on like any other con artists. (See: Chuck-y Schumer.)