From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
We already know that some developers have pulled out of offshore wind projects off the US NE coast, as they are not viable.
Here is more news on developments off the New York coast:
The developers of four offshore wind farms in New York are seeking average price rises of almost 50% on their offtake agreements.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) calculated how the companies’ requested adjustment would impact strike prices, and found the average across all four was 48%.
The projects involved are Orsted and Eversource’s 924MW Sunrise Wind project, along with Equinor and bp’s 816MW Empire Wind 1, 1260MW Empire Wind 2 and 1230MW Beacon Wind.
Sunrise Wind previously agreed a price of $110.37 per MWh, and is now seeking a $139.99 price instead, a 27% increase, according to NYSERDA.
Empire Wind 1 requested increasing its strike price from $118.38 to $159.64, a 35% increase, while Empire Wind 2 asked for its $107.50 original price to be increased to $177.84, a 66% increase.
Meanwhile, Beacon Wind wants its $118.00 previously agreed price ramped up to $190.82, 62% more.
The three Equinor and bp projects combined have an average price rise of 55%.
The four projects are seeking a number of reliefs, including retroactively applying an inflation-adjustment mechanism similar to one included in New York’s recent third offshore wind solicitation, along with interconnection cost adjustments, though the exact specifications differ between the developers.
According to NYSERDA, including the inflation adjustment mechanism alone would raise prices for the four projects by an average of 31% (25% for Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1, 37% for Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind).
So we are looking at a range of prices demanded between $139 and $190/MWh.
In UK terms, that’s £114 to £155/MWh.
Do we need any further proof that offshore wind is not as cheap as made out?
For more on problems with Wind Energy, check out the Intermittent Wind and Solar topic on our ClimateTV page.
It’ll never be enough
You’ll see. There weren’t any takers on this side of the pond
Someone told me wind was free? I don’t get it.
The wind itself is free, when it blows, just right – the Mickey Mouse engineering trying to capture it, is about money transfer from poor to rich, not energy provision
Perhaps someone should mention that oil/gas/coal/wood is all free at the point of extraction – its getting it to the consumer that costs the money. No difference at all with wind and solar, the cost is in the delivery and depletion of minerals. Wind and solar are no more ‘renewable’ than fossil fuels as when the mineral resource and fossil fuel resource needed to build them runs out then that source will be equally as obsolete. Our true saviour will be the sun ultimately and its ability to convert the elements into plants, the only way we can manipulate the sun better is to create our own.
Create our own sun? Is that an allusion to the fusion delusion?
They need more efficient lasers. The current lasers used to ignite the fusion are only 20% efficient.
I cannot resist. Of course it is free. The engineers will donate their time, the manufacturers will donate their time and materials, and the construction outfits will donate their time and materials. Since it is for a good cause, the existence of mankind. 🙂
The real cost of these offshore wind projects is almost certainly higher than the figures quoted. Investment tax credits are available for these projects but the credits are only available if the wind turbines have a certain percentage domestically sourced.
It’s a bit more complicated. The 30% ITC does not require domestic content but there is a 10% bonus that does. Offshore wind gets a big break. Other renewables require 40% domestic to start, rising over time. Offshore just needs 20%, but that is hard since we have no offshore industry. They are trying to get it lowered.
Thanks for the clarification. Of course, this means that the real cost of these wind projects is much higher than stated in the article.
Very true. I think EIA reports average costs by gen type with and without subsidies. My guess is it is running around $6 billion per 1,000 MW for construction and well over $12 billion fully financed. It is approaching nuclear cost.
Nuclear cost fully burdened by every form of lawfare that the deep state can muster I suppose you meant?
Without never ending, increasing subsidies & green levies, there is no business case for them
No projects or developers have pulled out. They bought out their pre-crisis power purchase agreements for peanuts so they can rebid at the new high level. The interesting question is will the States and Utilities pay these sky high prices?
They are issuing new solicitations so likely will. Keep in mind the more a regulated utility spends the more profit it makes. And the lefty Governors are touting jobs, ignoring that poor people are paying for them.
“Never been cheaper than now” ALWAYS means that the price fix is in.
OK, so the four want an excessive increase in the price of their product, and other adjustments, now, let’s see if NY pays it. That will be interesting.
I’m sure Schumer will fold it into the next crisis opportunity or Superstorm fill-in-the-blank campaign.
Just Say No!
Unfortunately NY has a climate nonsense law that virtually mandates this stuff, no matter the cost.
The Statue of Liberty must be turning on her mounts
Which may be why it’s going on … “We’ll low bid to get the business knowing that we can simply raise the price later.”
But… but… I thought renewable energy is… almost free? /sarc
“Price of offshore wind power falls to cheapest ever level in UK”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/08/price-offshore-wind-power-falls-cheapest-ever-level-uk
But how cheap is cheap?
“UK auction secures no offshore windfarms”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/08/biggest-clean-energy-disaster-in-years-uk-auction-secures-no-offshore-windfarms
Nowhere near cheap enough.
Paul Homewood did great work on this. The developers were bidding very low, getting the projects, then not executing the bid contracts but selling on the wholesale power market for big bucks. This last round closed that loophole so nobody bid. Those old low bid prices the Guardian touts were part of a scam.
“Those old low bid prices the Guardian touts were part of a scam.”
Now we get the rest of the picture.
We are being scammed by climate alarmists, people.
No, its the most expensive generator of power (with solar) with a capacity factor well below coal, gas & nuclear
As with all this globalist enforced tat, follow the money – they’re up to their grubby armpits in the scam
Hey! They need that money to kill more whales and dolphins, and to make flashy videos blaming everyone else for all the dead whales and dolphins. All that ain’t cheap, buddy!
Wind power costs are dominated by the costs of the fossil fuels used to make install and maintain it.
Without that fuel, or nuclear power, it is, energy- and cost-wise, unsustainable.
And if you have nuclear power, there is no point to windmills whatsoever anyway.
remember those “economists” who told us they were insulated from bidenomics and rising oil prices because they lived in large metro areas and didn’t have to drive much?
good times.
Wind & solar projects are all simply cash cows for suppliers, developers, landowners & shareholders – from a technical & economics pov, there is no business case for them – it is a blatant self serving transfer of money from the masses to the elites, nothing more
And without oil, the useless things wouldn’t even be able to be made, never mind rotate
A quick look below, no sign of Stokes defending the indefensible
Strange
He’s usually the first one off the tee.
He doesn’t seem to post much at the weekends, few of the trolls do really. Perhaps it’s just a weekday thing or just when they can use the work connection?
There is nothing wrong with wind turbine generated energy that trebling the consumer price of electricity can’t solve….
Story:
In a familiar situation, the fellow keeping track of the issue for American Clean Energy was for sometime an employee of the government agency tasked with regulating those and other “re-newable” energy projects. The US government trains regulators so they can get employment helping industries to evade the regulations imposed. The increase in compensation must be considerable in light of the generous wages and pensions of government employment where never a pink slip is slipped in with the paycheck.
If there were any business case, they’d be going up off the coast of every ocean bordering state, without any government incentives.
https://dailysceptic.org/2023/10/08/settled-science-shock-earth-temperatures-rise-ahead-of-co2-emissions-say-scientists/
Forget those costly, useless renewables – get fracking – the more CO2 the better for our world
Remember, increasing prices and lowered service is the hallmark of all dying cultures. People who want to lower your standard of living are not your friends.
There still might be time to learn Chinese!
Chinese, maybe, but Communist China is doomed.. First, The internal contradictions of a Marxist-Leninist Socialist Utopia guarantee that is non-competitive. Second, the one-child policy (since canncelled) in addition to the appalling economic conditions have created a demographic collapse.
All future spending for energy must go for fossil fuel and nuclear generation. The only money we should spend on renewables is to remove them from the grid.
Call it the Wind in Your Face Reduction Act. WYFRA
or the Tax Credits for Me and Not You Act.