this article Reprinted from conversation Under a Creative Commons license.
America’s first large-scale offshore wind farm Started transmitting power A wind farm is scheduled to open in the Northeast in early 2024, but a series of canceled wind projects and rising costs have many questioning the future of the wind energy industry in the United States.
Major companies include Orsted, Equinor, BP, and Avangrid. Cancelled contract or asked for renegotiation Pulling out would mean the company would have to pay cancellation fees. $16 million The cost of each project can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Siemens Energy, the world’s largest manufacturer of offshore wind turbines, Financial losses expected in 2024 Approximately $2.2 billion.
A total of 100 projects have been cancelled by the end of 2023. Over 12 gigawatts of powerThis represents more than half of the capacity of the project pipeline.
So what happened, and can the U.S. offshore wind industry recover?
I am currently working at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Wind Energy Science and Engineering Research Center (Windstar) and Energy Innovation Centerand keep a close eye on the industry. The offshore wind industry’s problems are complex, but they’re not over in the U.S., and some policy changes could put it on more stable footing.
A series of issues surrounding approval
Permitting and Approvals for Offshore Wind Projects in the United States It will take years For developers, there is more uncertainty than in Europe or Asia.
Before companies can bid on U.S. projects, developers must draw up procurement plans for the entire wind farm, including purchasing reservations for components such as turbines, cables, construction equipment, ships, etc. Bids must also be cost-competitive, so companies tend to bid low and not anticipate unexpected costs, which increases financial uncertainty and risk.
The winning US company was Buying expensive marine leasesthe cost is Hundreds of millions of dollarsHowever, there is still no right to build wind power projects.
Before construction begins, the developer must carry out a site assessment to What kind of foundation The project will be scaled and its feasibility will be verified. The developer will need to enter into an agreement to sell the electricity produced. Identify interconnection points Connecting to the grid, preparing construction and operation plans, and Environmental ReviewAll of this will take about five years, and this is just the beginning.
A developer may need to secure one to move the project forward. Dozens of permits from local, tribal, state, territorial and federal agencies; the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Have jurisdiction Seabed leasing and management regulations require consultation with agencies responsible for regulating various aspects of the ocean, such as the military, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as commercial and recreational fisheries, Indigenous groups, shipping, port authorities, landowners, and other groups.
