January 30, 2024 — Danish company Ørsted has agreed to acquire utility company Eversource Energy’s 50% stake in a 924-megawatt offshore wind farm in New York, Sunrise Wind.
Eversource, based in Hartford and Boston, previously announced that it would divest its 50% ownership stake in three offshore wind projects in New York and Connecticut, including Sunrise Wind.
As a result, Eversource will take a 2023 fourth-quarter charge of up to $1.6 billion.
January 26, 2024 — Two federal environmental agencies issued plans Thursday to better protect endangered whales amid offshore wind farm development.
That move came as two offshore wind developers announced they were swapping projects.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released final plans to protect endangered North American right whales, of which there are only about 360 left in the world.
The agencies said they are trying to find ways to better protect the whales amid a surge of offshore wind farm projects, particularly on the U.S. East Coast. They plan to look for ways to mitigate any potential adverse impacts of offshore wind projects on the whales and their habitat.
The strategy will use artificial intelligence and passive acoustic monitoring to determine where the whales are at a given time and to monitor the impacts of wind development on the animals.
It also calls for avoiding the granting of offshore wind leases in areas where major impacts to right whales may occur; establishing noise limits during construction; supporting research to develop new harm minimization technologies; and making it a priority to develop quieter technology and operating methods for offshore wind development.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
January 23, 2024 — The City of Lewes is meeting on Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. to discuss possibly planning a public workshop to get feedback on a benefits offer from U.S. Wind. The offer would provide the city with funding as long as it does not obstruct or try to delay wind farm development.
Maryland Congressman Andy Harris held a public hearing on Jan. 20.
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.
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.