A win for Biden’s green policies blows ashore

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

May 26, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell The UHL Felicity, the first vessel to deliver offshore wind components for Vineyard Wind, arrives at New Bedford, Mass., on Wednesday. | Lauren Owens Lambert Offshore wind has arrived in the United States. The first of many turbines sailed into New Bedford, Mass., this week, carried by a 490-foot-long vessel called the Felicity. The long-awaited arrival from Europe kicks off construction of Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project, writes Benjamin Storrow. Vineyard Wind, slated for completion next year 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, is a major coup for President Joe Biden’s goal of greening the electric grid. The project is expected to produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes, reducing planet-warming emissions by 1.6 million tons annually. That’s the equivalent of taking more than 300,000 cars off the road every year. The arrival of the 200-foot-long turbines Wednesday was years in the making. A small group of activists, local officials and wind developers has worked for decades to make offshore wind a reality in the U.S., overcoming years of false starts, legal battles and lengthy federal reviews. The first proposed offshore wind project in the U.S., Cape Wind, eventually met its end in 2017. Years of beating back lawsuits created an interminable delay that ultimately killed the venture. At first, Vineyard Wind appeared poised to avoid many of the problems that plagued Cape Wind. New federal regulations offered a clear approval process, and the project is far enough away from shore that few people would see it. But problems arose in 2019 under the Trump administration, and Vineyard Wind eventually withdrew its application for approval. The company refiled under the Biden administration and was quickly approved. Challenges remain, however. The project continues to face opposition from the fishing industry, which has joined other opponents in filing four lawsuits challenging federal permits. One suit was dismissed earlier this month. And while Vineyard Wind is moving forward, future projects planned off New York and New Jersey face increasingly strident criticism from coastal communities.   Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Programming note: We’ll be off this Monday for Memorial Day but will be back in your inboxes Tuesday.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Annie Snider breaks down the Supreme Court's decision to constrain the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act. Power Centers Kevin McCarthy talks with reporters about debt limit negotiations at the Capitol on Thursday. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Debt ceiling negotiations The advancing talks between the White House and House Republicans to avoid a federal default on debt payments could include a Democratic-led permitting overhaul plan to expand the electricity grid, write Kelsey Brugger and Emma Dumain. As first reported by POLITICO, the transmission proposal would be based on legislation set to be introduced soon by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) that would require regions around the country to be able to transfer electricity among their power networks during times of stress on the grid. But it’s unclear whether Republicans will accept it, writes Josh Siegel. Campaign dynamics As Joe Biden gears up for another hotly contested presidential campaign, he’s facing heat from environmentalists, a core constituency that played a key role in his 2020 victory, writes Brian Dabbs. Green groups rallied behind Biden as the most pro-climate-action presidential candidate in U.S. history, but activists are now ratcheting up pressure on the president after his administration recently signed off on a series of major fossil fuel projects. In Other News Professionals: Clean energy experts are stretched too thin. Study: A new report shows that slowing ocean currents caused by melting Antarctic ice could have a drastic climate impact.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A man walks on a mountain of plastic bottles in Nairobi, Kenya. | Ben Curtis/AP Photo Millions of tons of plastic are clogging oceans and overwhelming recycling plants, but although countries generally agree it’s a problem, they don’t see eye to eye on how to solve it. A South Korean automaker and a battery manufacturer announced plans Friday to build an electric vehicle battery cell plant near Savannah, Ga., adjacent to Hyundai’s Metaplant America. The International Energy Agency said that investments in clean energy will exceed those made in oil and gas in 2023, but analysts say the figures also show the staying power of fossil fuels. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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