Biden's wind energy fantasies

 Daily Caller:

Last March, President Joe Biden announced a goal of building 30,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind generation by 2030. Doing so will “strengthen the domestic supply chain and create good-paying union jobs,” according to the White House. It’s all part of the president’s executive order to “build a new energy economy that will create millions of new jobs.”

Except the executive order won’t accomplish this, not least because it rests on an assumption that endless green energy subsidies will produce boundless economic growth.

As I discuss in a new Manhattan Institute report, building 30,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030 is not going to happen. The goal is infeasible. And, even if it were achievable, offshore wind’s dismal economics make it a goal to be avoided. If common sense ruled the day — hey, we can all dream — then offshore wind would be torpedoed and allowed to sink into the abyss.

But green energy policies have nothing to do with common sense. They are all about the politically well-connected draining money from U.S. taxpayers and indulging the fantasies of climate catastrophists who believe the end is nigh. (RELATED: President Biden’s Magical Thinking On Rising Gasoline Prices)

There is only one offshore wind facility operating in the U.S. today — the 5-turbine, 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm, located off the coast of Rhode Island. The project took two years to build and cost about $400 million, or over $13 million per MW. By comparison, a new gas-fired combined-cycle generator has a capital cost of around $1 million per MW and can produce electricity when needed, not just when the wind blows.

Block Island is the poster child for the types of technological issues that are almost certain to affect future U.S. offshore wind development. Since it began producing electricity in December 2016, it has been plagued by operational issues, In 2017, it’s two undersea cables became uncovered because of tidal action. After almost five years, the longer cable to the mainland has still not been reburied. In June 2011, four of the five turbines were shut down for “routine maintenance” because of potential stress fractures in their towers.

While the executive order mentions improved supply chains, they are one of the things that will sink the 30,000 MW goal. As my report details, the rush to develop offshore wind in the U.S. will run headlong into the reality of scarce and increasingly costly resources. Raw materials, including rare earths and steel, are in short supply. The same is true for the magnets wind turbines require: there is only one manufacturer of these magnets in the U.S. (RELATED: The Global Chip Shortage Is Driving Prices ‘Sky-High’: Here’s How It Could Affect You)

Moreover, improved supply chains will not change the decade or more needed to go from planning to construction, nor address the growing environmental concerns over massive offshore wind development. Vineyard Wind, for example, which will be built off the Martha’s Vineyard, is facing numerous lawsuits over its potential adverse impacts on endangered whales and commercial fishing interests. Those lawsuits are likely to delay the project for several years, if not longer. And more lawsuits are forthcoming.

Then there are the specialized ships needed to erect the 850-foot tall turbines. By the end of next year, there will be just six of those ships in the entire world. And only one ship — which is still under construction — will be able to deliver materials from U.S. ports, thanks to the requirements of the century-old Jones Act, which requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on vessels that are built, owned and operated by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Oh, and the specialized workers needed to operate these ships are oil workers, primarily those who work on offshore oil platforms. Good luck getting them.
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Wind energy is intermittent unreliable energy that costs way more than it is worth.  It is unreliable and the cost of the turbans is just the beginning.  Special ships are needed to lay the cable and then if they want to store energy they will need more batteries that also have limited life.  The Erupeans have already discovered this and now have decided that nuclear and natural gas are "green energy."