In campaign appearances, Trump railed against offshore wind and promised to sign an executive order to block such projects.

The post Trump has vowed to kill US offshore wind projects. Will he succeed? appeared first on Boston.com.

The Biden administration is opening the West Coast to offshore wind. Companies have largely focused on the East Coast, like this wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island.; Credit: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration plans to open the California coast to offshore wind development, ending a long-running stalemate with the Department of Defense that has been the biggest barrier to building wind power along the Pacific Coast.

The move adds momentum to the administration's goal of reaching 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, coming just weeks after the country's first large-scale offshore wind farm was approved off the coast of New England. Today, the country has just a handful of offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, with around a dozen wind farms being developed in federal waters off the East Coast.

"It's an announcement that will set the stage for the long term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand new made-in-America industry," says national climate adviser Gina McCarthy. "Now we're thinking big and thinking bold."

The agreement identifies two sites off Central and Northern California with the potential to install massive floating wind turbines that could produce 4.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

Interest in offshore wind on the West Coast has grown for years, especially with California's own ambitious goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The deep waters off the coast have the potential to produce a significant amount of energy.

But the Defense Department has largely objected to the idea, since the Navy and Air Force use the area for training and testing operations. In response to the growing interest, the Navy released a map in 2017 putting large swaths of California waters off limits.

In 2018, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management solicited interest from wind developers. But negotiations with the Department of Defense have been slow going ever since, effectively blocking wind development off California.

Tuesday's announcement outlines a compromise for a 399-square-mile area off Morro Bay, a site that's appealing to renewable energy companies because of existing transmission lines nearby that once service a retired power plant. It also identifies a location off Humboldt County in Northern California.

"It's our view that the world faces a grave and growing climate crisis," says Dr. Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy. "Climate change is both a threat to the Department of Defense's operations around the world and an existential challenge to our ability to maintain resilience here at home."

Another key site, just offshore from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, was not included in Tuesday's deal. California's last-remaining nuclear plant is scheduled to completely close by 2025, freeing up more potential transmission lines for offshore wind.

The Biden administration has set a goal of jump-starting the country's offshore wind sector with 30 gigawatts of projects by 2030. Those wind farms will foster tens of thousands of jobs, according to the White House, between renewable energy installers, manufacturers and steelworkers.

"This is a major breakthrough — a major advancement that will allow California to start planning for its carbon-free electricity goals with offshore wind firmly in the picture," says Nancy Rader of the California Wind Energy Association, who also pointed to the challenges. "Offshore wind development off the coast at Morro Bay and Humboldt will require a major port facility in each area to construct the floating platforms and assemble the turbines that will require continued proactive planning by the state and federal governments."

Still, the areas identified in the agreement may not be enough for hitting the administration's clean electricity goal, as well as California's. The state is planning to get 100% of its electricity from zero-emission sources by 2045. To reach that, renewable energy needs to triple statewide with offshore wind playing a key role, reaching 10 GW, according to a recent state analysis. Tuesday's deal could provide just half of that.

A potential lease auction for the offshore wind sites could be held in mid-2022. But the projects will still have to negotiate concerns about the potential impacts on California's fishing industry and shipping channels, as well as any environmental concerns about sensitive ecosystems.

"Far too many questions remain unanswered regarding potential impacts to marine life which is dependent on a healthy ecosystem," says Mike Conroy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "The fishing industry has been told these areas work best for offshore wind developers; but no one has asked us what areas would work best for us."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A new report says wind turbine generators used in offshore wind farms can interfere with navigational radar used by ships to avoid collisions, posing challenges for safe maritime navigation.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Sweden has vetoed plans for 13 offshore windfarms in the Baltic Sea, citing unacceptable security risks. The country's defence minister, Pal Jonson, said on Monday that the government had rejected plans for all but one of 14 windfarms planned along the east coast. The decision comes after the Swedish armed forces concluded last week that the projects would make it more difficult to defend Nato's newest member. The proposed windfarms would have been located between Aland, the autonomous Finnish region between Sweden and Finland, and the Sound, the strait between southern Sweden and Denmark. The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is only about 310 miles (500km) from Stockholm. Wind power could affect Sweden's defence capabilities across sensors and radars and make it harder to detect submarines and possible attacks from the air if war broke out, Jonson said. The only project to receive the green light to was Poseidon, which will include as many as 81 wind turbines to produce 5.5 terawatt hours a year off Stenungsund on Sweden's west coast. "Both ballistic robots and also cruise robots are a big problem if you have offshore wind power," Jonson said. "If you have a strong signal detection capability and a radar system that is important, we use the Patriot system for example, there would be negative consequences if there were offshore wind power in the way of the sensors."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Greenrock released a report from BVG Associates “to help progress offshore wind as a key potential element of a sustainable, low carbon energy system for Bermuda.” A spokesperson said, “Bermuda’s greenhouse gas emissions need to reduce 60% by 2030 to align with international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade. If warming exceeds […]

“A 60MW offshore wind farm could generate up to 40% of Bermuda’s electricity,” according to a new study released by Greenrock into Offshore Wind Feasibility. A spokesperson said, “After completing an independent review of work carried out to date a few months ago, Greenrock is pleased to announce the release of an Offshore Wind detailed […]

As part of the next steps for Bermuda’s Integrated Resource Plan [IRP], the Regulatory Authority [RA], is “exploring new sources of clean energy in the form of an offshore wind farm and is inviting the public to hear about the preliminary results prior to making a decision.” Nigel Burgess, Acting Chief Executive at the RA […]

The Regulatory Authority is reminding the public about two additional town hall events regarding the “potential of offshore wind farms for Bermuda.” A spokesperson said, “Following the success of its initial town hall meeting held in July 2023, regarding the potential of offshore wind farms for Bermuda, the Regulatory Authority is reminding the public about […]

Greenrock announced the release of the fourth study in our offshore wind feasibility study series – a Wind Speed and Annual Energy Production Analysis. A spokesperson said, “This study was commissioned to understand more accurately how much electricity could be generated by an offshore wind farm in Bermuda. “Key points from the study are as follows: […]

Offshore wind developer US Wind, Inc. has submitted multiple permit applications to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for its wind energy project offshore of Maryland. To inform the public and engage Delawareans in the regulatory process, DNREC will host a public information session on Wednesday, June 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Beacon Middle School, 19483 John J. Williams Highway, Lewes, Del.

DNREC will hold a joint virtual public hearing Tuesday, July 9 at 6 p.m. on multiple permit applications and authorization requests made to DNREC by wind energy developer US Wind, Inc. involving Delaware aspects of the company’s proposed Maryland offshore wind project.

South Fork Wind Farm is a 132 MW project to be located 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The project is approved to install 12 or fewer wind turbines and will use Siemens-Gamesa’s 11 MW turbines. Kiewit Offshore Services will design and build the project’s substation.

The outlay also includes ₹6,853 crore for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects and a grant of ₹600 crore for upgradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects

Wind industry sources estimate island nation has 65 GW onshore potential

The U.K. Green Investment Bank is set to tie up the first investments in a $1.6 billion fund by the end of March, part of Britain’s push to cement its dominance in offshore wind power.

The U.K. Green Investment Bank is set to tie up the first investments in a $1.6 billion fund by the end of March, part of Britain’s push to cement its dominance in offshore wind power.

Noise caused by construction of Germany’s first offshore wind farm caused significant habitat disturbance for harbour porpoises, according to a recent study. Its results suggest that porpoises avoided areas up to 20 kilometres from the noise source during construction of the wind farm’s foundations.

General acceptance of offshore wind farms is most positively influenced by reductions in fossil fuel imports and contributions to global warming mitigation, and most negatively by concerns about increases in electricity price and impacts on scenic views, US research suggests. Other factors, such as reductions in air pollution, were not closely related to general acceptance even though on average the public rated them as important.

The energy output from offshore wind power has increased dramatically in recent years, and the costs of wind power are expected to fall, according to a recent analysis. The study reviews the global offshore wind sector, outlining the market’s current situation, costs and technology.

The planned expansion of offshore wind farms in the German Bight of the North Sea will provide hard surfaces in what is currently a soft-bottom habitat. This could see an increase in the numbers of some species, such as mussels, which attach themselves to these hard structures, in turn leading to increased numbers of fish and crabs specialised to this habitat, new research suggests.

How do offshore wind farms affect marine wildlife? A new study outlines a systematic approach developed for Swedish waters that could also be useful for assessing wind energy impacts on the marine environment more widely.

12 shiny new off-shore turbines in Germany are a reminder of just how far behind the U.S. lags in race for clean offshore energy.

Scotland is hoping to leverage its extensive experience in North Sea oil and gas drilling to become the leader in the offshore wind industry.

In approving an offshore wind farm, the Scottish government handles Donald Trump in a manner in which everyone should handle Donald Trump: They ignore him.

Offshore wind power poses no major environmental or socioeconomic risks for the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, a new Interior Department study reports.

Turbine sites in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia identified as prime parcels for projects.

Owib 2013 will start on December 10 and continue till 12th of December in Esbjerg, Denmark.Owib is a yearly global international event devoted towards making contacts and contracts inside the industry of offshore wind. It's an elective choice to conferences…

GE Renewable Energy announced the shipment of the four tower sections that will be part of GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW prototype to be installed later this summer in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam (NL). The four segments at tower manufacturer GRI’s site in Seville, will be arriving in the Netherlands before the end of the month.

Last week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced it selected Ocean Wind, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted with support from PSEG, to develop an 1,100 MW offshore wind farm. Ocean Wind will be located 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. Construction is expected to commence in the early 2020s, with the wind farm operational in 2024.

This week the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) launched the first edition of its Global Offshore Wind Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the global offshore wind market, including forecast data, market-level analysis and review of efforts to lower costs.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (the NDRC) issued a Circular on Policies of Improving the Electricity Price for On-Grid Wind Power (the Circular) at the end of May 2019. According to the Circular, the price of electricity from offshore wind power projects is cut to 0.8 yuan per kWh [US $0.12 per kWh] in 2019 and will further drop to 0.75 yuan [US $0.11] per kWh in 2020.

Dominion Energy has begun construction on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which will feature two 6-MW wind turbines and power about 3,000 homes.

GE Renewable Energy has taken a major step to cement its offshore wind operations in China.

New York has signed the biggest-ever deals for offshore wind power in U.S. history, a key part of the state’s plan to get all of its power from emissions-free sources by 2040.

The Trump administration cast the fate of the nation’s first major offshore wind farm into doubt by extending an environmental review for the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts.

British people need to fly less, drive electric cars, eat little meat and turn their home thermostats down to 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) in order to rein in greenhouse gases damaging the planet.

Clean energy advocates rejoiced as legislation was passed today in New Jersey that will support the development of a massive amount of renewable energy, specifically community solar, energy storage, offshore wind and energy efficiency. The bill also props up nuclear power in the state with the establishment of zero-emission certificates.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is set to hold more auctions for offshore wind power, plugging a current gap in tenders for the next three years that the industry has said would harm turbine makers and hamper green targets.

British people need to fly less, drive electric cars, eat little meat and turn their home thermostats down to 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) in order to rein in greenhouse gases damaging the planet.

Offshore wind development is being pushed further out into deeper waters, emphasizing longer, higher-capacity transmission systems. Most newer offshore wind farms from Europe to the U.S. are looking at hundreds of kilometers of transmission lines: the U.K. Crown Estate's Round 3 allocations, interconnection systems from Germany's North Sea to the U.K.'s National Grid Western Link, and the proposed Atlantic Wind Connector in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.

ABB Ltd. said a power-cable technology that allows offshore wind farms to transmit more than twice the energy of current set-ups will boost orders at the company’s power systems division in coming years.

GE Renewable Energy and Future Wind said this week that they have signed an agreement to install the first Haliade-X 12-MW wind turbine prototype in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam this summer. The deal includes five years of testing and a 15-year full service Operation and Maintenance agreement.

Recent political changes have shaken Taiwan, and could put at risk the development and growth of its nascent offshore wind market.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is set to hold more auctions for offshore wind power, plugging a current gap in tenders for the next three years that the industry has said would harm turbine makers and hamper green targets.

Offshore wind is set to provide more than 30 per cent of UK electricity by 2030 after the government today launched a landmark deal with the renewables industry.

The U.S Jones Act affects the construction of U.S. offshore wind farms by limiting certain activities in U.S. waters to U.S.-registered vessels owned and operated by qualified U.S. citizens. Much of the expertise in the construction of offshore wind farms is European based. The logical mechanism for marrying European expertise with U.S. firms qualified to operate where the U.S. Jones Act applies are joint ventures. Such joint ventures must take into account the stringent U.S. citizenship requirements applicable to the ownership and operation of Jones Act vessels.

The offshore wind market in the is lagging behind other areas of the energy sector when it comes to embracing – and understanding – the potential of digital technologies.

As plans for wind farms across New England’s waters progress, fishermen continue to express concerns about the impact of the burgeoning offshore wind industry on their livelihoods.

British people need to fly less, drive electric cars, eat little meat and turn their home thermostats down to 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) in order to rein in greenhouse gases damaging the planet.

Even though there is only one small existing offshore wind farm in the Northeast, the 30-MW Block Island wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, two announcements this week highlight the growing economic importance of the region's burgeoning offshore wind industry.