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RHODE ISLAND: Anti-wind farm group sues CRMC over Revolution Wind OK

October 11, 2023 — Green Oceans, a Little Compton-based citizens group that fiercely opposes offshore wind farms, is in the midst of a civil lawsuit it has filed against the state Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), claiming the council violated the constitution, state regulations, and its own responsibilities when it approved the Revolution Wind farm in May.

The lawsuit, being heard in Newport Superior Court, asks the court to vacate the CRMC’s decision, which, in effect, declared that the wind farm conforms to the state’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), provided that the developer, Revolution Wind LLC, takes some agreed-upon mitigating actions.

Attorneys for the CRMC fired back, stating that private citizens have no legal standing to bring such a suit, that Green Oceans has not suffered injury because of the CRMC action, that the complaint was filed past deadline, and that Green Oceans was taking the action without an attorney, which is not allowed.

The next scheduled action in the case will be a hearing on a motion to dismiss on Nov. 17 in Newport Superior Court.

The May vote by the CRMC was a fairly minor but necessary state-based approval and part of a long approval process that Revolution Wind LLC began more than two years ago. Final approval comes from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The developer proposes to build 65 wind turbines, two offshore substations, and miles of undersea cable on the Continental Shelf about 13 miles from Rhode Island, bringing 704 megawatts of clean electricity onshore. The project is part of a strong push by the federal and state administrations to replace energy from dirty fossil fuels with renewable energy.

The federal government released in July a final Environmental Impact Statement for Revolution Wind. That is nearly the last action that happens before final approval, which is given by BOEM, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Read the full article at EastBayRI

Construction for N.J.’s 1st ocean wind farm begins onshore. Here’s what to expect.

October 10, 2023 — Onshore construction for New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm kicked off in Lacey Township on Monday, with more work slated for Island Beach State Park next week.

The Oct. 10 construction includes work to ultimately install copper and aluminum cables meant to connect with the electric grid at substations located at former power plants in Ocean and Cape May Counties.

Work at the state park will run from this month to May 2024 before resuming next September so as to not disturb summer tourism, according to officials with Danish energy developer, Ørsted.

Read the full article at NJ.com

 

As CT scrambles to save wind, developers step up off Jersey Shore

October 10, 2023 — As Avangrid and Orsted waffle on wind farms off the southern New England coast amid runaway costs, two more big developers are pushing ahead undeterred for a big installation off New Jersey — presumably at a price point that could raise the bar on what Connecticut and other states will have to pay to get the wheels turning on wind power.

Attentive Energy announced it would bid on a power purchase agreement from New Jersey for a new proposed wind farm, the same day Avangrid announced it would back out of Park City Wind. The project was second in the pipeline to generate carbon-free electricity for Connecticut from offshore winds, after Orsted’s Revolution Wind.

A subsidiary of France-based TotalEnergies, Attentive Energy is pairing with the Corio Generation affiliate of Macquarie Group based in Australia.  New Jersey kept the window open for bids from March through August, coinciding with a stretch in which some offshore wind developers elected to cut their losses amid high interest rates that are making it more expensive to finance projects with loans, and continuing problems with the array of suppliers needed for the projects.

Read the full article at ctpost

New England states join to buy offshore wind power as US industry struggles

October 5, 2023 — Three U.S. states in New England – Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut – on Wednesday agreed to jointly procure offshore wind power as soaring interest rates and rising equipment and labor costs have made some projects uneconomic.

By joining forces, the states hope to counter the pain rippling across the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, which is expected to play a key part in decarbonizing the power sector and revitalizing domestic manufacturing.

Earlier this week, another offshore wind developer canceled agreements to sell power to local utilities – this time in Connecticut – because the previously agreed upon prices for that power was too low to cover the rising cost of building the project.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced the agreement between the three states at the American Clean Power Association’s Offshore WINDPOWER Conference in Boston, according to a press release on the governor’s website.

Read the full article at Reuters

NEW JERSEY: Public opinion in NJ is turning fast on clean energy question

October 5, 2023 — Most New Jersey residents agree that climate change is a real concern, but fewer people today believe that offshore wind farms are a good idea for the Garden State.

The latest poll out of Stockton University recorded a 30-point drop in support for New Jersey’s plans to build wind turbines at sea to generate electricity, compared to four years ago.

Fifty percent of New Jersey adults are in favor of offshore wind for the state, compared to 80% in 2019, the poll finds. Thirty-three percent of adults in the latest poll say they oppose offshore wind farms, compared to 15% in 2019.

“When the concept of wind farms moved from abstract policy considerations to preparing for actual construction, many residents, said, ‘Not in my backyard, or at least not off my beach,” said John Froonjian, director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton.

Read the full article at SOJO

3 New England states join together for offshore wind power projects, aiming to lower costs

October 5, 2023 — Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island will procure future wind energy projects together rather than separately as part of a joint agreement the states’ governors announced Wednesday — the first such multi-state agreement in the nation.

The partnership could lead to the three states acquiring clean energy at more competitive and affordable rates, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said. Energy from off-shore wind projects is seen as key to meeting each states’ climate change goals.

“We can go further when we work together,” said Lamont, a Democrat.

The new multistate agreement, which could become a model for other parts of the country, comes as some offshore wind developers are seeking to renegotiate contracts they signed with states in 2019 and 2020 when costs were lower. Those costs include the price of steel needed for wind turbines and higher interest rates.

Read the full article at WSBTV

More U.S. Wind Farms Terminate Power Agreements Due to Financial Pressures

October 5, 2023 — The U.S. continues to push forward with the permitting process for the development of offshore wind energy resources while evidence continues to mount regarding the changing economics of the sector. Developers for several of the earlier proposed projects that are now in the later stages of permitting have highlighted the mounting financial challenges for their projects saying it would jeopardize their development.

Avangrid, a Connecticut-based company owned by Spain’s Iberdrola Group on Monday confirmed that it has reached its second agreement with regulators to terminate its previously approved Power Purchase Agreements for wind farms it is planning for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The company contends this is the fastest path toward developing the wind farms.

The new development comes for the Pack City Wind project, a planned 804 MW wind farm that would be located about 30 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on the Outer Continental Shelf and in the first phase supplying power to Connecticut in the Bridgeport area. The company was awarded the contract for the project in 2019 and in 2020 two regulated electric utilities, Eversource Energy and United Illuminating, entered into the 20-year agreements for the power from the project which was targeted to come online in 2025. The project is projected to supply 14 percent of Connecticut’s electric power needs.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Connecticut: CT’s biggest offshore wind project nearly dead in the water

October 4, 2023 — Connecticut’s largest offshore wind project — Park City Wind — is not quite dead in the water but is now on serious life support.

Its developer, Avangrid, announced Monday night that it and Connecticut’s utilities have terminated an agreement for the utilities to buy the power from the project. In doing so, Park City, at 804 megawatts, becomes the third major New England offshore wind project, and the second for Avangrid, to hit the shoals.

The reason for each is the same. The economy has shifted so much since the power purchase agreements, PPAs, were negotiated, that the projects are no longer viable.

Avangrid said in a statement that the “unprecedented economic headwinds facing the industry including record inflation, supply chain disruptions, and sharp interest rate hikes” have “rendered the Park City Wind project unfinanceable under its existing contracts.”

“After exploring all potential solutions to the financial challenges facing the project, and engaging in good-faith and productive discussions with Connecticut state officials regarding these challenges, it is clear the best path forward for Park City Wind is in the termination of the Power Purchase Agreements and a rebid of the project,” the Avangrid statement continued. Avangrid will pay $16 million to terminate the agreement.

Read the full article at CT Mirror

US Offshore Wind Chiefs Blast Barriers to Progress

October 4, 2023 — Welcome to Energy Daily, our guide to the energy and commodities powering the global economy. Today, we look at the obstacles to growth in the US offshore wind industry. And in oil, Saudi Arabia and Russia are sticking with supply curbs to the end of the year. To get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox, you can sign up here.

“We are all in this perfect storm.”

That’s the assessment of the US offshore wind industry from Equinor ASA’s sector head, Molly Morris. And she’s not alone.

At the American Clean Power Association’s conference in Boston this week, Ocean Winds North America’s US chief, Michael Brown, used the same well-worn metaphor, while Orsted A/S North America boss David Hardy bemoaned a “storm of inflation.”

Read the full article at Bloomberg 

TotalEnergies, Macquarie’s Corio bet on U.S. offshore wind as sector wobbles

October 3, 2023 — A wind energy developer owned by France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and a unit of Macquarie (MQG.AX) said on Monday it is bidding to build a wind farm off New Jersey’s coast, expressing confidence in the sector after a series of U.S. setbacks.

Spinning power from coastal wind turbines is central to President Joe Biden’s plan to decarbonise the U.S. economy by 2050, but his installation targets are slipping out of reach due to soaring costs, high interest rates and supply chain delays

Bucking that trend, developer Attentive Energy has now proposed to build a site with up to 1.34 gigawatts (GW), capable of powering more than 600,000 homes. Corio Generation, a dedicated offshore wind developer owned by the green investment unit of Australian conglomerate Macquarie, joined TotalEnergies in Attentive Energy last month.

“We are confident in the long-term outlook and fundamentals for U.S. offshore wind,” said Corio Generation Chief Executive Jonathan Cole.

Read the full article at Reuters