Offshore wind cable/foundation failure, public comment MA Vineyard Wind

Mr. Matthew Beaton, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

Attn: MEPA Office

Purvi Patel, EEA No. 15787 (Vineyard Wind Connector)

100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900

Boston MA 02114


To Honorable Secretary Beaton:

Thank you for providing this opportunity for me to comment on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project SDEIR.  I respectfully request that these comments be entered into the public record, with my personal contact information omitted.   

I hope that the State will only advance an offshore wind project if the project technology can reasonably be considered to reliably produce energy.  

Cable problems represent one of the offshore wind industry biggest struggles to address, and translate to considerable down-time for offshore wind projects—at burdensome cost.  Cable repairs average $6.5 million Each, and cable failure represents 7O% of all offshore wind insurance claims.  

Offshore Wind Cable problems are inherent with DeepWater Wind 

DeepWater 35,000 Volt Cable Exposed 

“The cable is fully armored and insulated,” said Block Island Power Company President Jeffery Wright. “That doesn’t take away that to stand on top of it is a little unnerving. Be respectful of it.”

https://www.blockislandtimes.com/article/cable-exposed-near-shoreli...

Please note that this is not the first cable problem that has occurred.  See DeepWater Wind tech problem information under this first article.

https://www.blockislandtimes.com/article/cable-exposed-near-shoreli...

Block Island Times

Cable exposed near shoreline

Wed, 08/08/2018 - 1:30pm 

Category: 

News

An exposed section of the transmission cable is seen here about three feet below the water at low tide. Courtesy photo

The sea2shore transmission cable, installed by National Grid as part of the Block Island Wind Farm project, can now be seen about 25 feet from Town Beach at low tide. The cable, which is yellow and black, was getting some attention on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 8. The cable connects Block Island to the mainland.

There are 34,500 volts running through the cable.    Please scroll-

 “Operational failures now make up about 80% in value of all cable-related claims, a delegate from the insurance industry claimed...”

https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1428525/industry-face-grow...



‘Cable failures are one of the main risks affecting offshore wind operations’

 
“Cable failures are one of the main risks affecting offshore wind operations because they can shut down an (important part of an) offshore wind farm for a duration of months, resulting in a financial as well as a societal impact. Despite the fact that power cables typically form only 5 to 10% of the total investment costs in an offshore windfarm, they account by far for most of the unavailability of the windfarms, and for claim costs of 100s of millions of Euros annually.  In view of the development of the number of offshore wind farms, this amount will increase considerably in the future. Cable inspections and repairs are expensive maritime operations. Repairs on cables can easily take weeks or even months because of the weather or the limited available of equipment and vessels. That can severely impair revenue and also reduce the technical lifetime of offshore wind farms...”

https://www.dnvgl.com/news/offshore-wind-industry-joins-forces-to-r...



Cable installation and repair cost-Cable problems, (more than 70% of wind project insurance claims), repair average cost is U.S. $6,450,630.08.  ( conversion € 5 million).



Subsea Cable INSTALLATION cost averages $6 million per mile per Sue Tierney Analysis Group

LOffshore Cabling 2017

2017-03-07 - 2017-03-09
Cable damages remain an ongoing issue with average costs of € 5 million per repair. Submarine cable repairs account for more than 70 % of all insurance claims of installed wind parks.

http://www.offshorewind.biz/events/offshore-cabling-2017/

 

Cable failure costs

https://mobile.offshorewind.biz/2018/04/12/new-jip-commits-to-cable...

 

Foundation failure, monopoles

(please note that there is a fundamental design-code failure, (J101), due to the failure of industry to incorporate stress load factors)

 

‘Hundreds of wind turbines could be SINKING due to design flaw’ 

“The fault was first discovered at the Egmond aan Zee wind farm in the Netherlands and affects those with single cylinder foundations...”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1265886/Sinking-turb...



The U.K. Supreme Court landmark judgement of 2017 will “change the legal landscape” of the offshore wind industry.  The court identified failure of the offshore wind turbine foundation single-cylinder, or monopole, standard design-code (J101).  

The U.S. has adopted the U.K. offshore wind turbine single cylinder, monopole, foundation design-code (J101).  

https://maritime-executive.com/article/landmark-case-changes-offsho...



Overview

Load factors not considered in the single-cylinder, monopole, offshore wind turbine design-code:



‘Offshore Wind Foundations: Research Needs And Innovation Opportunities - Wind Systems Magazine’



“The need for design refinements can be traced back to the fundamental goal of design standards, which is to ensure that resistance is larger than the applied loads. The offshore wind industry, however, [cut, whose towers differ substantially from oil platforms in terms of loads and resistance, has adopted foundation design protocols of oil and gas installations but has selectively addressed only some of the characteristic differences of the two industries, and what’s more, has done so independently of each other. This has led to offshore wind foundation standards that lack an overall design philosophy, and have large built-in uncertainties in the characterization of loads and resistance — wind speed, wave height, wave kinematics and slam forces, steel and soil stiffness and strength, and soil-foundation interaction — uncertainties that are, in fact, disproportionately larger than the narrow window of performance requirements of offshore wind installations...”

 

http://www.windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/753/offshore-wind-foun...http://www.windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/753/offshore-wind-foun...



“Offshore wind turbine foundations lack an overall design philosophy”



‘Owners of the yr 2013 175-turbine London Array wind farm off Kent, the biggest offshore farm in the world, and the 108-turbine West of Duddon Sands, applied to the Marine Management Organisation for permission to carry out urgent repairs.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/london-array-offshore-wind-...



Wind Turbines are corroding internally and externally.  



Insurance industry source for insured offshore Wind corrosion issues-  


Summary:  Offshore wind turbines are corroding internally & externally & industry is challenged to correct ongoing problems.


http://www.materialsperformance.com/articles/material-selection-des...

 

‘Wind turbines are wearing too fast at the world’s largest offshore farm’

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/london-array-offshore-wind-...

 

The design-code problems are complex & continue-

“The list of research needs and priorities serves as a reminder that as the industry evolves, greater efforts should be prioritized to refine foundation design models for U.S. offshore wind installations.”

http://www.windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/753/offshore-wind-foun...

 

There are only three considerations on the topic of energy sources.

 

Is the energy source reliable?

Is the energy source commercially reasonable?

Is the energy source reasonably safe?

 

My research reveals offshore wind fails on all three counts.  

 

The public will ultimately fund up to 65+% of projects’ capital costs.  Add transmission, for $billions, add energy storage for $billions needed to support offshore wind systems including electric service platforms and ports’ upgrades.  

 

White House Memo identifies wind developers have only 10%, “skin in the game”, while the public is on the hook for 65+% for projects’ construction costs.  



WH Memo: 

http://dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/browner-loan-guar...

 

I appreciate the time you have taken to review and consider my comments.  I hope that Vineyard Wind will not be advanced as offshore wind technology presently fails.  

Thank You,

 

Barbara Durkin

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Comment by Barbara Durkin on October 13, 2018 at 4:03pm

I appreciate your re-posting what the media refuses to report, Eric.  

Thank You, 

Barbara Durkin 

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on October 12, 2018 at 11:19pm

Posted to:

United States of America Groups Against Wind Turbines

A Facebook page of Groups Battling the Industry.

Comment by Barbara Durkin on October 12, 2018 at 10:22pm

Thank you, Penny & Steve.  Reliability is a threshold for the governor’s Energy Facilities Siting Board.  But, I fear,  Regulatory Capture will prevail.  The State will go by developer’s representations.  The money hole in the ocean we will be forced to “fill”.  

Comment by Steve Thurston on October 12, 2018 at 7:00pm

Great work Barbara.  The saying about boats is applicable also to wind turbines.  "An offshore wind turbine is a hole in the water that you pour money into". 

Comment by Penny Gray on October 12, 2018 at 6:14pm

Thank you, Barbara Durkin.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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