Maine legislators are expected to vote soon on a bill under which Maine would procure 3 gigawatts of offshore wind power
BY EMMA KILBRIDE
Excerpts
State legislation expanding offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine has received a committee endorsement and is expected to be voted on soon in the House and Senate.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, sets up a schedule for the state to procure 3 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040, an amount that could power nearly 900,000 homes.
The bill, which received approval Wednesday from the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, also has protections for workers and the fishing industry, two groups that have expressed concerns about how wind-power development might affect them.
“To combat climate change and invest in Maine’s energy independence, our state has set ambitious but necessary goals for renewable energy. This effort will involve offshore wind energy projects. If we know this is coming, we need to have guardrails in place to make sure this is done right and truly benefits Mainers,” Lawrence said in a press release Thursday..................................................
.........................But the bid to harness wind power in the Gulf of Maine could damage vital ecosystems on which the fishing and lobstering industries depend.
“With 20,000 individuals employed aboard Maine’s fishing vessels or directly in the seafood supply chain, the productive and fragile waters of the Gulf of Maine should not be used as a testing ground for new offshore wind technology or to site large industrial wind farms,” said Maine Lobstermen’s Association President Kristan Porter.
The full article appears at:
https://www.centralmaine.com/2023/07/13/fair-breeze-blows-for-offsh....
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Comment by Stephen Littlefield on July 20, 2023 at 4:27pm
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So the great scam is coming to a vote, the destruction of the fishing grounds off Maine for useless unreliable wind power! The vibrations that are killing whales off New Jersey will drive ALL marine life out of the Maine coastal waters FOREVER!!! This goes from dumb moves to line the pockets of the democrats like Baldacci, King Anus, Mills, and a host of others to outright EVIL, destroying the lively hoods of thousands of fisherman just to line the pockets of corrupt democrats! the democrat party has lost it's way and no longer represents the working class!!
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I find it astounding so few Mainers are reading this article.
Do they not realize, they are about to be screwed big time for the next 20 years, and likely much longer, by their own compromised Legislature dancing to the tunes of the multi-millionaire elites fattening their lucrative tax shelters, while living out of state
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Comment by Dan McKay on July 14, 2023 at 5:03am
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Ditch Wind, Go Nuclear
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3 gigawatts is 3000 MW, but offshore wind power varies up and down, 24/7/365, year after year, so we do not know how much MWh will be bought, and at what price.
Will it be an escalating price, say 10 c/kWh, increasing at 3 to 5 percent per year for 20 years?
Will that be FLOATING OFFSHORE, which the UK states is the most expensive of all offshore wind?
That expensive electricity will be totally unaffordable for already-struggling Mainers, as has been the experience of UK households
Why is Maine not learning from the UK offshore calamity?
Read this article to become a whole lot smarter regarding offshore wind
BIDEN 30,000 MW OF OFFSHORE WIND BY 2030; AN EXPENSIVE FANTASY
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/biden-30-000-mw-of-off...
The Biden administration announced on October 13, 2021, it will subsidize the development of up to seven offshore wind systems (never call them farms) on the US East and West coasts, and in the Gulf of Mexico; a total of about 30,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
This is part of the “Inflation Reduction Act”, which CBO estimated at $391 billion, but Goldman Sachs estimated at $1.2 trillion
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/biden-s-green-energy-p...
Biden's offshore wind systems would have an adverse, long-term impact on US electricity wholesale prices, and the prices of all other goods and services, because their expensive electricity would permeate into all economic activities.
The wind turbines would be at least 800-ft-tall, which would need to be located at least 30 miles from shores, to ensure minimal disturbance from night-time strobe lights.
Any commercial fishing areas would be significantly impacted by below-water infrastructures and cables. The low-frequency noise (less than 20 cycles per second, aka infrasound) of the wind turbines would adversely affect marine life, including whales, and productivity of fishing areas.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/feds-finally-admits-of...
Offshore Electricity Production
Annual production would be about 30,000 x 8766 h/y x 0.45, capacity factor = 118,341,000 MWh, or 118.3 TWh of variable, intermittent, wind/weather/season-dependent electricity.
The additional wind production would be about 100 x 118.3/4000 = 2.96% of the annual electricity loaded onto US grids.
That US grid load would increase, due to tens of millions of future electric vehicles and heat pumps.
Counteracting Power Plants
The more annual wind electricity loaded onto the US grid, the greater the fleet of quick-reacting power plants, such as combined-cycle, gas-turbine plants power plants, CCGTs, and hydro plants to:
1) Counteract wind output variations, MW, 24/7/365
2) Fill-in wind production shortfalls, MWh, during any wind lulls. Such lulls occur at random throughout the year, and may last 5 to 7 days, and may be followed by another multi-day wind lull several days later.
These URLs provide examples of wind/solar lull conditions in Germany and New England
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/analysis-of-a-6-day-lu...
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/wind-plus-solar-plus-st...
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/wind-and-solar-energy-...
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/playing-russian-roulet...
High Costs of Balancing the Grid with Increased Wind and Solar
The grid balancing costs are entirely due to the variations and intermittencies of wind and solar, because the other power plants have to operate far from their efficient modes of operation, 24/7/365. These plants experience:
1) More up/down production at lesser efficiencies; more Btu/kWh, more CO2/kWh
2) More wear-and-tear, due to up/down production and more starts/stops; more Btu/kWh, more CO2/kWh, more c/kWh
4) Increased hot, synchronous (3,600 rpm), standby plant capacity, MW, to immediately provide power, if wind/solar generation suddenly decreases, or any other power system outage occurs.
5) Increased cold, standby plant capacity, MW, to provide power after a plant’s start-up period.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/fuel-and-co2-reduction...
When wind and solar were only a very small percent of the electricity loaded onto the NE grid, those balancing costs were minimal, i.e., “buried in the data noise of the grid”
Those balancing costs should have been charged to the Owners of wind and solar systems (the grid disturbers), but, in reality, they were politically shifted to taxpayers, ratepayers, and government debts.
Those balancing costs are in addition to the various government subsidies, which are also politically shifted to taxpayers, ratepayers, and government debts.
Now you are finally beginning to see just how wonderful wind and solar have been, and will be, for your pocketbook.
Energy systems analysts, with decades of experience, saw this mess coming about 25 years ago, but all-knowing legislators and bureaucrats ignored them, because they were pressured into aiding and abetting the “harvesting” of federal and state subsidies for RE businesses “to create jobs, save the world, etc.”.
Turnkey Capital Cost of 30,000 MW of Offshore Wind
The turnkey capital cost for wind systems would be about 30,000 MW x $4,000,000/MW = $120 BILLION; includes underwater cabling to shore, but excludes:
1) The LCOE of Owners return on his invested capital, usually about 9%/y. Governments require an Owner puts up 50% of his own money (to have skin in the game), and 50% financing with bank loans.
2) The LCOE of financing during high inflation, high interest years, which likely adds about 30% to the project LCOE. That 30% is more than offset by: 1) large upfront federal and state tax credits, 2) plus front-loaded, 5-yr depreciation of the entire project, 3) plus deduction of loan interest from any taxable incomes. See item 3
3) The cost of government subsidies and financial benefits is equivalent to about 50% of the project LCOE, which enables Owners to sell their output at about 50% less c/kWh, than without them, to reinforce the fantasy wind and solar are inexpensive and competitive with fossil.
4) The LCOE of onshore grid extension/reinforcement, which is charged directly to ratepayers, taxpayers and government debts.
5) The LCOE of counteracting the variable wind (and solar) outputs, because they could not be fed into the grid without a fleet of quick-reacting power plants to counteract the ups and downs of wind (and solar), and provide electricity to meet demand during their insufficiency and absence, including during the peak demand hours of late-afternoon/early-evening, on a less than minute-by-minute basis, 24/7/365, year after year. Owners usually are compensated for providing counteracting services from the budget of the independent grid operator, such as ISO-NE
The turnkey capital cost and higher O&M costs in 2022 and later years, and resulting cost of electricity production, c/kWh, have significantly increased, due to: 1) increased inflation rates, 2) increased interest rates, 3) supply chain disruptions, which delay projects and increase costs, 4) increased energy prices, such as of oil, gas, coal, electricity, etc., 5) increased materials prices, such as of tungsten, cobalt, lithium, copper, manganese, etc., 6) increased labor rates.
As a result, the spreadsheets of the US East Coast offshore wind projects (and in the UK), used for negotiating prices, c/kWh, do no longer make sense.
Owners/Developers want to renegotiate, delay and cancel projects. See below UK section.
They want to force ratepayers and taxpayers to pay more for wind electricity, c/kWh, for the next 20 years, to ensure providing a generous return on investment to Owners/Developers.
East Coast Hurricanes
East Coast wind systems, with 850-ft-tall wind turbines, will be subject to hurricane-strength winds. See image
UK 26,000 MW OF ADDITIONAL OFFSHORE WIND BY 2030; AN EXPENSIVE FANTASY
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/uk-26-000-mw-of-additi...
UK government bureaucrats, etc., justify the build out of 26,000 MW of additional offshore wind turbines by 2030, in less than 7 years, because: 1) the UK is the "Saudi Arabia of Wind", and 2) several hundred thousand new jobs will be created (a number likely picked out of the air), and 3) household electric bills will be lower (which is the opposite of what actually happened). See below
It took more than 23 years for the UK to expensively build 14,000 MW of offshore wind turbines by end 2022, that produce high-cost electricity, that destabilizes the UK grid, and caused greatly increased household electric bills.
How many steady, long-term jobs, with good benefits, were created due to offshore wind turbines in the UK?
No answer to that question is available.
For decades, Denmark and Germany, both wind mavens, had the highest household electric rates, c/kWh, in Europe.
But that “honor” was passed to the UK, which now has the highest household electric rates in Europe, by far.
See image in URL
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/politics/energy-prices-uk-britai...
Wind + solar became 28.4% of the 312 TWh of electricity loaded onto the UK grid in 2020; excludes net imports
The counteracting/balancing costs became £1.3 billion ($1.65 billion) in 2020, likely even more in 2021, 2022, 2023.
The US cost would be about 4000/312 x 1.65 = $21.2 billion, on a pro-rated basis, if 28.4% wind/solar in the US.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/grid-balancing-costs-s...
https://www.statista.com/statistics/514874/energy-mix-uk/
CO2 Reduction, due to Wind, less than Claimed: In Ireland, with 17% wind fed to the Irish grid in 2012, the officially claimed CO2 reduction of grid CO2/kWh was 17%
However, analysis of 15-minute grid operating data and fuel consumption data showed, it was only 0.526 x 17% = 8.94%, due to inefficient operation of the other power plants, when counteracting the variable output of wind.
The UK, with 28.4% wind and solar in 2020, has a CO2-reduction factor significantly less than 0.526.
Ireland, the UK, US, etc., have been over claiming CO2 reduction from wind. See explanation in URL
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/fuel-and-co2-reduction...
UK Dependent on European Wind Industry
All five of major wind turbine manufacturers have their headquarters in EU countries, except for US-based GE.
All five have been making huge losses for 30 months, starting at least 15 months before the Ukraine events.
All five demand increased subsidies from the UK government, or else they will pull out of uneconomical contracts, i.e., leave the UK market.
Industry lobbyists claim unforeseen rising costs now require three actions:
- A revision to the auction rules, with winners not determined by lowest bids, but by an administrative decision that weights bids according to their ‘value’ in contributing towards the “Net Zero targets”.
- The 5th auction to provide a budget increase of two and half times the current levels for non-floating offshore wind
- Special new targets, and market shares, for floating offshore wind, one of the most expensive of all forms of generation
https://www.netzerowatch.com/wind-industry-blackmails-the-uk-more-s...
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/offshore-wind-threaten...
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/wind-industry-blackmails-uk-dem...
European Lacks Physical Infrastructure to Build 8,000 MW of Offshore Wind per Year
The EU wind industry has told the EU in Brussels: “We simply don’t have enough factories and infrastructure to build and install the volumes Europe (and the US) wants”
Wind Europe CEO, Giles Dickson, in a Press release, dd. 16 March 2023, ‘EU Green Industry Plan falls short for now’
https://windeurope.org/newsroom
Plus, the UK 26,000 MW build-out would be at about 25% higher turnkey cost per MW, and would produce much more expensive electricity, c/kWh, than the existing 14,000 MW of offshore wind turbines
Biden wants to build 30,000 MW offshore wind turbines by 2030, that thus far has been killing dozens of whales on the US East Coast, before even a single 850-ft-tall wind turbine has been erected!
If the European companies do not have the capacity to build the 26,000 MW UK offshore wind, how would they ever be able to also build, at the same time, the 30,000 MW Biden offshore wind?
How in hell do these demented politicians and bureaucrats get into these jobs?
Why do their fanciful ideas get magnified by the government-subsidized media mouthpieces?
World Energy Outlook 2022, issued by European Information Energy Agency, IEA
“From 80% today, a level constant for decades, EIA predicts fossil fuels to decrease to about 75% by 2030, and to about 60% by 2050”
EIA is not just optimistic, but delusional!
Those fossil decrease numbers would require enormous capacity increases of wind and solar, MW, which is not going to happen.
Not in the UK, the self-proclaimed “Saudi-Arabia of Wind”, which is already impoverished, inefficient, uncompetitive and hopelessly mismanaged, with high inflation and high interest rates
Not in the US, which does not even have an offshore wind industry.
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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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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