Do the problems of offshore wind power development blow away the advantages? The case against offshore wind is gaining prominence. Speaking at CERA Week in Houston earlier this month, NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum blasted offshore wind as a bad choice for renewable power. Ketchum’s views are particularly cogent, as Florida-based NextEra is the world’s largest developer of renewables, based on solar and onshore wind.
Reuters reported that Ketchum called offshore wind a bad bet. “It’s very capital intensive,” he said, noting that the problems include saltwater corrosion, hurricanes, availability of ships to build and service the installations, cost of undersea transmission cables, and other supply chain issues. “We find it hard enough just to take care of a fleet onshore with some of the issues that we deal with as a company, and we’re best in class”
Rhode Island media paid close attention to Ketchum’s remarks on wind, as the state has big plans for offshore power development. The online business site GoLocalProv.com reported that NextEra’s position on offshore wind is not new, noting, “Previous CEOs also criticized offshore wind — the industry that many in Rhode Island call the future of the state’s economy. In 2017, then-NextEra Energy CEO Jim Robo said the economics for offshore wind projects are bad for customers during an earnings call. He said offshore wind is “terrible energy policy.”
Rhode Island is the site of the only commercial offshore wind project in the U.S., the 30-MW Block Island wind farm, some 4 miles off the state’s coast. It is now owned by Ørsted US Offshore Wind. It consists of six 5-MW turbines, in operation since 2016.
Attempts by Rhode Island to expand its offshore wind profile have run into problems. A request for proposals for up to 1,000-MW in offshore wind from the state’s dominant utility, Rhode Island Energy, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania’s PPL, drew only one bid. Rhode Island Democratic Governor Dan McKee mandated the procurement.
Danish wind developer Ørsted and New England utility Eversource submitted a bid for an 884-MW project, which requires federal approval. The consortium hopes to have a project operating in 2025.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is also pushing offshore wind for his state, and some locals are pushing back. Save LBI [Save Long Beach Island] is a group that has formed to oppose the Atlantic Shores wind project in the New York Bight, a stretch of ocean between the eastern tip of New York’s Long Island and New Jersey’s Cape May. The leader of the group is Bob Stern, a former U.S. Department of Energy environmental impact manager.
Wikipedia lists 21 proposed U.S. offshore wind projects in various stages of development, with 15 in Atlantic waters, one for Lake Erie (a tiny 20-MW project), and five extremely preliminary projects in the Pacific Ocean.
Some of the biggest planned projects in the Atlantic are in trouble. Commonwealth Wind, a 1,200-MW wind farm set for off of Martha’s Vineyard, has been looking to revise its sales contracts. Cape Cod Times reports, “The Commonwealth Wind project is troubled by supply chain issues, rising costs tied to the war in Ukraine, inflation, rising interest rates, and burgeoning worldwide interest in offshore wind development, the company said.”
Despite its nascent nature and negative trends, the Biden administration is making offshore wind a priority. President Biden yesterday (Mar. 21) speaking at the White House Conservation in Action Summit, said his administration “will harness the tremendous power of the ocean to help in our fight against the climate crisis….We can reduce emissions by building offshore wind farms, better protect our coastal and fishing communities from worsening storms, changing fisheries and other impacts on climate change.” Biden’s well-regarded commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, is a former Rhode Island governor who led the state into its bullish program of offshore wind development.
The U.S. Interior Department has regulatory oversight of offshore wind projects located, as most are, in federal waters. The administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget has $64.5 million for the renewable energy program of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – $21.6 million more than for FY 2023. This includes a $12 million hike for permitting associated with the current offshore wind leasing path forward.
In its budget justification explanation, Interior wrote, “BOEM will maintain an all-of-government approach by collaborating with multiple government agencies and states, and consulting with Tribal Nations to expand responsible offshore wind development. BOEM aims to run efficient, transparent, and inclusive processes to identify future lease sale areas; avoid, reduce, and mitigate conflicts; and advance projects. BOEM will also work with the Governors of U.S. Territories to explore the potential of offshore wind lease sales in federal waters off their coasts, as authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).”
–Kennedy Maize
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