Offshore wind: An ocean of untapped potential

Presented by Chevron: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Aug 03, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by Chevron A view of Vineyard Wind 1 on Wednesday. | Ben Storrow/E&E News The Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts is blazing the trail for offshore clean power. After avoiding financial peril, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is slated for completion next year, writes Benjamin Storrow. Its developers won a contract to sell power to the state in 2018, then survived a near-fatal permitting snafu during the Trump administration, followed by a brief dockworkers strike earlier this year. The energy generated from the turbines — enough electricity to power 400,000 homes — is a critical down payment on the Biden administration’s ambitious plans for offshore projects in the Northeast. But it’s a drop in the bucket when it comes to tapping into the country’s offshore wind potential. That’s according to a new analysis by the University of California, Berkeley, which found that the U.S. has enough offshore wind capacity to generate up to a quarter of the country’s electricity by 2050. Over the hump Offshore wind combined with existing clean energy sources, such as onshore wind and solar, could help the country green the electric grid 95 percent by 2050 without significantly raising prices, the report concluded. The energy source could also prove critical for ensuring the nation can meet an increase in electricity demand. The report found that the country’s energy needs are likely to triple by midcentury. Reaching offshore wind’s potential, however, is another story. Wind energy accounts for just 10 percent of the nation’s electricity, and the majority of that is land-based. Offshore wind projects have struggled to overcome cost increases and opposition from coastal communities and the fishing industry. Ørsted, a Danish company, is turning to federal clean energy tax credits to help recoup costs for Ocean Wind, a 1,100-megawatt project off the New Jersey coast. Vineyard Wind still faces ongoing lawsuits, but the $4 billion project by wind developer Avangrid and co-developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has managed to avoid soaring costs. Massachusetts Democratic state Rep. Jeffrey Roy described the project as “our generation’s Hoover Dam.” “This power is going to provide the energy independence that we have long wanted and needed for the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Roy said. “And it’s also going to provide the robust, clean energy that we need to make the transition to fossil free by 2050.”   It's Thursday — 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.   A message from Chevron: At Chevron, we know carbon capture and storage is critical in helping enable progress toward global net zero. That’s why we’re developing and deploying the technology in our facilities while also working with partners to scale it to other industries, like cement and steel.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Jean Chemnick breaks down the impact of new federal guidance that requires agencies to account for how their decisions impact ecosystems and natural resources.   A message from Chevron:   Power Centers A pump jack working near Firestone, Colo. | David Zalubowski/AP Photo Farewell, Colorado oil leases The Bureau of Land Management has proposed removing more than a million acres of public lands in Colorado from future oil and gas leasing, while also designating tens of thousands of acres of new protected areas, write Scott Streater and Heather Richards. The move is part of an effort to resolve a series of legal challenges from environmental groups. Behind the pump price jump Gasoline prices are on the rise again as U.S. refineries bake under extreme heat and oil-producing countries keep a lid on output, write James Bikales and Ben Lefebvre. Prices have spiked nearly 30 cents higher to a national average of $3.82 per gallon following six months of holding steady. Midwest power line gains ground A federal appeals court removed a legal barrier blocking completion of a 100-mile power line in the Upper Midwest, writes Jeffrey Tomich. But the Cardinal-Hickory Creek high-voltage transmission line — a link that would move electricity from northern Iowa to a substation outside Madison, Wis. — still needs permission to cross the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. In Other News Insurance price hike: Baseball-size hail is making insuring solar and wind farms more expensive. Hot planet summer: These places baked the most during Earth’s hottest month on record.   HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Evacuees sit on a boat after being rescued from flooding in Port Arthur, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images A new government analysis shows that Black households will have to spend a larger share of their income to buy federal flood insurance compared with white, Hispanic or Asian households. The Biden administration is planning on sharp growth of electric vehicles, but lingering — and sometimes fiery — challenges associated with EV batteries could lead to slower adoption. Greenpeace climate activists scaled U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s family home and draped it in black fabric to protest government plans to issue new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   YOUR TICKET INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: California Playbook delivers the latest intel, buzzy scoops and exclusive coverage from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and across the state. Don't miss out on the daily must-read for political aficionados and professionals with an outsized interest in California politics, policy and power. Subscribe today.       A message from Chevron: By 2030, our target is to reach 25 million tonnes of CO2 per year in storage and offsets, the equivalent to the emissions of 3.1 million homes annual energy use. Part of that effort is our proposed Eastridge CCS project in the San Joaquin Valley, which is projected to capture up to 300,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year. And through our partnership with Svante, we’re working to reduce the cost of carbon capture and help scale the technology. Moving toward a lower carbon future by developing and deploying carbon capture and storage solutions, that’s energy in progress.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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