Joe Mastrangelo, CEO of Eos Energy Enterprises, discusses ways to improve U.S. energy systems and storage following the deadly winter storm and power outages in Texas.
President Biden’s Home Affairs Department announced Monday that it has completed its analysis of a $ 2 billion foreign wind project that the government hopes will serve as a model for increased wind energy production along the East Coast.
The Vineyard Wind Project is an 800 megawatt wind energy project in federal waters off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and aims to generate enough electricity to house as many as 400,000 homes in New England.
“Foreign energy development provides an opportunity for us to work with tribal countries, communities and other ocean users to ensure that all decisions are transparent and use the best available science,” said Amanda Lefton, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). ), Said Monday. statement.
She added that the BOEM appreciates ‘everyone’s participation in the process’ and looks forward to ‘continuing to work with stakeholders on the future analysis of wind projects abroad.’
The University of Maine’s 9,000 pound prototype generates power off the coast of Castine, Maine. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty, file)
If approved, the Vineyard Wind project would be the first wind power development in federal waters. A smaller wind farm operates near Block Island in waters controlled by the state of Rhode Island.
“We look forward to reaching the final step in the federal licensing process and being able to start an industry that has such tremendous potential for economic development in communities up and down the east coast,” said Lars T. Pedersen , CEO of Vineyard Wind, said in a statement. .
A previous Massachusetts wind project called Cape Wind failed amid opposition from, among others, the Kennedy family and businessman William Koch, who considered it a bird killer in their ocean views.
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Fans believe that Vineyard Wind, located almost 20 km from abroad, is better located than Cape Wind and uses excellent technology with smaller and larger turbine blades. According to a preferred alternative, the giant turbines of the project will be located at least one kilometer apart, which will allow the fishing boats to move around the blades more easily, officials said.
“The Biden government is putting wind in the sails of this important new industry,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., A longtime cheerleader for the Vineyard Wind project, said in a statement. A responsible development of wind on the coast (will) liven up the economy, provide affordable electricity and move us further in a climate-safe future.
Critics say that the excessive growth of wind power capacity could threaten the shortage of the power grid.
Three of Deepwater Wind’s turbines stand in the waters of Block Island, RI (AP Photo / Michael Dwyer, File)
“Wind power may be a niche electricity source that replenishes more reliable sources in certain regions, but any wind project must make economic sense on its own terms,” said Robert Murphy, a research fellow at the Independent Institute and senior economist at the Institute for Energy. . Research told Fox News.
He added that he did not believe the federal government ‘should explicitly encourage the growth of wind power, whether it is President Biden’s plan to double foreign wind by 2030, or the newly proposed 30% tax credit for foreign wind for projects starting with construction. until 2025. “
“Generally, such subsidies distort the market if the government chooses winners and losers,” Murphy said. “Specifically in the case of wind power, the excessive growth of its capacity can make the power networks vulnerable to shortages in times of high demand.”
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He noted the freezing point in February that shocked Texas and its power grid, which increased demand for energy sources.
“On the first day of the blackouts, February 15, the cold hampered production from various sources, but natural gas produced 46% of its theoretical maximum installed capacity, while wind produced only 10%. By the nature of the matter, wind an intermittent source that always has to rely on more traditional sources of electricity than backup, ”Murphy said.
The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) has expressed concern that the project could potentially interfere with local fisheries and economies and have a negative impact on the environment. She also said that the public has not yet had the opportunity to take into account the new developments.
Gay Head Light flashes a white signal in Aquinnah, Mass., On Martha’s Vineyard Island. (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan, File)
Annie Hawkins, executive director of RODA, told Fox News that the Vineyard Wind project and “other projects proposed in an area of 1,400 square miles outside New England will have a major impact on commercial fisheries.”
Some of her concerns relate to safety and the “ability to transport through turbine fields that are too large to get around”; other concerns related to “economic consequences”, including “loss of equipment, relocation, access to port, fuel and ice use” [and] increased insurance costs, if any insurance is available. ‘
Hawkins also expressed skepticism about job promises and whether there will be “real net job creation when foreign wind opportunities are mostly foreign and do not explain job losses in the fisheries sector.”
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‘Then there are the ecological consequences of large-scale industrial projects that will transform millions of acres of ocean habitat, introduce large amounts of artificial materials into the environment, alter oceanographic processes on a scientifically unknown scale, and hinder the capacity of our federal government. . to determine the health of the fish stock in order to set catch quotas, ”Hawkins said.
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She said the government should provide clearer information to the public “about the impact of these projects; the outcomes for the environment, energy and taxpayers; and a clear way to secure American seafood and the communities that provide it.”
Fishermen “want solutions”, she concluded, but “there was no regional or national strategic planning with fisheries experts at all.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.