News & Articles on Offshore Wind
I’ve written very little about offshore wind. It’s a subject I don’t follow closely. Nevertheless, I do come across an article or topic on offshore wind from time to time that I want to highlight and that’s the reason for this page. Offshore wind is an important branch of wind energy, but it is only a branch. It will be important in certain locations, such as the heavily populated eastern seaboard of the United States, where it makes sense. However, most wind energy is and will be generated on land.
How to design a good offshore wind auction
By
Jérôme Guillet
As the offshore wind sector struggles with cost increases and the often-hostile scrutiny that this brings, it is worth taking a step back to think about how governments should design auctions to get projects built at the lowest possible cost. Several of the recent highly publicised project cancellations or delays are directly linked to poor auction design, so it makes sense to avoid or correct certain mistakes. The goals of auctions are many, and some governments may prioritise some over others, but it is worth listing them explicitly.
Five grand challenges of offshore wind financing in the United States
By
Jérôme Guillet
We identify and describe five grand challenges affecting offshore wind finance in the U.S. Failing to address these challenges may put deployment targets at risk. The challenges include (1) Early years financing: navigating the complexities, timing mismatches, and high costs of projects in the development phase; (2) Policy support for project financial solvency: addressing the uncertainty and systematic transfers of tax credits away from offshore wind, characteristic of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit; (3) Workforce development: building a skilled workforce for an emerging market; (4) Transmission and integration barriers: upgrading the power grid to reliably support large scale offshore wind integration; and (5) Floating wind development: financing the development and scale-up of floating offshore wind technologies. The second challenge has already been solved to a large extent by the Inflation Reduction Act.
A few basic truths about offshore wind
By
Jérôme Guillet
So offshore wind has become, almost unexpectedly, a significant part of the picture when future renewable energy systems are considered – at least in OECD countries. It provides diversification, opportunities to Big Energy to go green, possibly less public hostility and potentially reasonable economics. But it’s worth remembering that even in Europe, it’s just 10% of the overall wind capacity installed (and a bit more of actual generation, thanks to higher capacity factors).
One worker reported dead and two critically injured in explosion at major wind industry supplier
By
External Source
One worker has been killed, and three injured, in an explosion at a factory run by Danish wind sector supplier Welcon, according to media reports in Denmark. The accident occurred at the company’s recently-expanded factory in the Give area of Denmark, and resulted in the death of a 41-year old Portuguese national, according to a report by Danish news website Vejile Amts Folkeblad, which quoted Stig Simonsen, a deputy police inspector at South East Jutland Police.
Fox anchor and climate contrarian defend Trump’s unhinged comments about whales and offshore wind
By
External Source
Fox anchor Martha MacCallum and anti-renewable energy activist Michael Shellenberger defended widely debunked statements former President Donald Trump made about whales and offshore wind farms at a recent campaign rally, instead crediting him for “shining a light” on the issue.
