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Maryland offshore wind developer pulls out of state agreement, seeks new financial support

January 26, 2024 — Maryland’s nascent offshore wind energy industry suffered a major blow late Thursday when one of the two companies planning to install wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City announced that it was “repositioning” its plans, pulling out of its agreement with the state and seeking alternative financial arrangements to keep the project going.

Ørsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind, emphasized that it was still committed to building its project in federal waters, but said it was opting out of the agreement it had reached with the Maryland Public Service Commission for financial clean energy credits intended to help fund the development. The company said that while it would still seek permits for the proposed wind farm from the federal government, and would continue to develop construction and operations plans for Maryland, the current financial realties of the offshore wind industry made it impossible to continue under the present arrangement.

A statement Ørsted issued late Thursday said the projected revenue from the state’s clean energy credits, which cap what the company can charge ratepayers for its wind power, is “no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints.”

Through two separate but adjacent leases known as Skipjack 1 and Skipjack 2 that had won state approval, Ørsted is ticketed to provide 966 megawatts of wind energy beginning later this decade. A company executive said Ørsted was determined to work with state officials, potential investors and other stakeholders in an effort to find a better way to finance and save the project.

Read the full article at the Rhode Island Current

NEW YORK: Big turnout expected in New York offshore wind power auction

January 25, 2024 — Several offshore wind developers will likely bid in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation by the Thursday deadline, including units of European energy firms Orsted (ORSTED.CO), Equinor and BP (BP.L).

The development of the U.S. offshore wind industry took a major blow last year when companies working in several states said they could no longer complete projects profitably because of rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags. The problems also hit the wind industry in other countries.

The development of the industry is key to meeting both U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. state-level clean energy targets. To prevent the projects from falling through, some state governments including New York have agreed to allow developers to rebid their projects at higher levels.

Orsted, Equinor and BP already have contracts to sell power in New York from offshore wind farms, but are expected to drop at least some of those old contracts in favor of new deals at higher power prices.

Read the full article at Reuters

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey approves two giant offshore wind power projects

January 25, 2024 — New Jersey’s utility regulator on Wednesday approved two offshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of 3,742-megawatts (MW) and whose backers include Invenergy and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA).

“Today’s action moves New Jersey closer to achieving Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2035,” the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) said. The board said the two projects would bring about $6.8 billion in economic benefits to the state and provide enough energy to power around 1.8 million homes.

The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.

But progress was slow last year after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, and threatened to cancel agreements in other states, as soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and supply-chain problems increased project costs.

Read the full article at Reuters

Denmark’s Orsted to take full ownership of Sunrise Wind in NY

January 25, 2024 — Orsted (ORSTED.CO), has signed an agreement with Eversource Energy (ES.N), to acquire full ownership of U.S. offshore wind farm Sunrise Wind, months after the Danish energy company halted development of some offshore wind projects in the country.

The company did not provide financial details for Wednesday’s acquisition of Eversource’s 50% stake in Sunrise Wind, a 924 MW offshore wind farm which would deliver power to New York.

Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind developer, halted the development of two U.S. offshore wind projects last year and said related impairments had surged above $5 billion.

The acquisition is subject to the ongoing New York 4 solicitation for offshore wind capacity and signing of a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the company said.

The 50-50 joint venture for Sunrise Wind will remain in place if the approval is not granted.

Read the full article at Reuters

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey OKs two new offshore wind farms that would be farther from shore and beachgoers’ view

January 24, 2024 — Stung by the pullout of the world’s largest offshore wind developer from two projects off the New Jersey coast last fall, state energy regulators on Wednesday approved two new wind farm projects, saying they remain committed to making the state a leader in the nascent industry.

Both the projects chosen by the state Board of Public Utilities would be considerably farther offshore than earlier projects that generated significant opposition from onshore communities, one of whose concerns was that the turbines would be visible on the horizon from the beach.

The board chose projects called Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy, which together would generate enough electricity to power 1.8 million homes, the board’s president, Christine Guhl-Sadovy said. But in statements announcing their applications last year, the companies gave a combined total of 1.6 million homes, slightly less than the number given by state officials.

Read the full article at the Associated Press 

Three-State New England Wind Solicitation Delayed for Tax Guidance

January 23, 2024 — Citing the need for additional guidance from the federal government on the tax code as it pertains to energy credits, Massachusetts along with Connecticut and Rhode Island informed regulators at the end of last week that they intend to delay their current offshore wind solicitation program. The three states had agreed to a coordinated solicitation which is currently underway and was scheduled to close at the end of the month, but will now be extended by at least two months.

“In light of the current uncertainty around federal tax guidance,” the states wrote to the regulators saying they are “concerned that the existing solicitation schedule may produce bids that do not maximize the potential clean energy tax benefits of offshore wind.” They write that they believe it is critical to revise the schedule to encourage the most cost-effective bids.

Tax credits had previously emerged as one of the issues cited by the large developers as one of the hurdles to proceeding with large U.S. offshore wind farms. In addition to the impact of inflation and supply chain problems including a shortage and delays for install vessels, Ørsted for example cited the problems in realizing proposed tax credits as one of the challenges that had caused it to review and abandon U.S. projects. The company reported it expected as much as $5.5 billion in impairment charges as its abandoned U.S. projects including a large wind farm planned for the coast of New Jersey.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Why Vineyard Wind is a legal test case for US clean energy

January 21, 2024 — Three lawsuits down, at least three appeals to go.

So it goes for Vineyard Wind, the 62-turbine offshore wind farm under construction south of Massachusetts. The three cases — which all challenge the project’s federal permits — are now in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

How those lawsuits fare will help determine whether the Biden administration can meet its goals to boost renewable power generation while satisfying traditional environmental laws meant to protect wildlife and ecosystems. President Joe Biden has committed to permitting 16 offshore wind projects by the end of this year — a build-out opposed by commercial fishing interests and conservative groups who argue installing wind turbines harm marine ecosystems and endangered species.

Read the full article at E&E News

Survey says 57 percent of U.K. fishermen saw lower catches, profitability around wind turbines

January 21, 2024 — Early results from a survey of fishermen who work around offshore wind projects in the United Kingdom show “more than half of those surveyed have cited a negative outcome on catches and profitability,” according to the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

The research group is conducting a survey of fishermen through Jan. 21 to assess the impact on the fishing industry from wind power developments. Most of the fishermen responding to the survey so far fish within 6 and 12 nautical miles offshore.

They work on boats from 20 to 140 feet, using “trawls, dredges, creels, pots, jigging machines, hand lines, trammel and gill nets,” according to a Jan. 10 update from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

Claire Szostek, an ecosystems services scientist at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, described some initial results from the survey, encouraging other commercial fishermen to contribute information about how they have been affected, and anticipated future impacts of wind turbine construction.

According to Szostek, “80 percent of the 43 wind farms that are currently operational or under construction are viewed as impacting fishing activity. The majority of fishers have had to use different fishing grounds due to wind farms, with a few choosing to change gear and one fisher leaving the industry as a result.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

RHODE ISLAND: Portsmouth Town Council begrudgingly approves host agreement with SouthCoast Wind

January 18, 2024 — Faced with receiving $23 million or nothing, the Portsmouth Town Council begrudgingly approved an agreement that allows a Massachusetts offshore wind farm developer access to town property under which to bury power cables.

The 18-page host community agreement, approved by a 5-1 vote of the council Tuesday, gives SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC access to town property. The easements will be used so the Massachusetts wind developer can bury 2 miles of high-voltage, underground transmission lines below town roads, meant to connect its offshore wind farm to the electric grid in nearby Brayton Point. In exchange for use of town land, the developer will pay $23.2 million in host fees and taxes, to Portsmouth over the next 33 years.

Councilman David Gleason cast the sole vote in opposition.

The council’s decision came after a nearly four-hour public hearing at Portsmouth High School, marked by impassioned testimony and pointed questions from community residents. Some criticized the lack of protections for the town in the agreement, as well as murkiness surrounding the exact route of the cable burial plan – for which there are two options. Others focused their opposition on how the offshore wind farm as a whole will upset the delicate ocean ecosystem so critical to fishermen’s livelihoods. Still others lobbed accusations based on self-described evidence that ties the company ownership to China, or insisted climate change was a “hoax.”

Read the full article at the Rhode Island Current