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Gusty market changes makes state's big wind bid risky
By adamg on Sat, 09/02/2023 - 9:24am
CommonWealth takes a look at Gov. Healey's announcement this week to tilt into offshore wind as a major new energy source for the state.
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Comments
Gracias
For the Don Quixote nod.
FWIW
The energy market is fickle. Having more sources of electricity that aren't affected by geopolitics, natural disasters, etc is worth a hefty sum.
ok we should never question the regime
have another glass of Kool-Aid
Questions are good
Above is my answer to the question.
Yes, everyone you disagree with is in a cult
What a healthy and intelligent way of thinking that surely won't lead to any problems.
What a bizarre response
What a bizarre response to a comment that was 99% factual and 1% opinion, i.e., this is a good thing. Who gored your ox, bro?
From a strict economic perspective
It might be worth it.
The article below is interesting, in that yield might be lower than expected. If the wind farms can generate the levels of electricity expected, any short term fluctuation in the relative value of electricity from other sources can be handled if one looks to the long term. If the output isn't as advertised, that would be problematic.
Wait until the next grid crash
Then we'll talk.
Maybe I missed it
It looks like all of the quoted sources are saying that the projected cost of wind-produced power is now higher than earlier projections, but there don't seem to be any comparisons to the current or projected cost of fossil-fueled power. Without that, these comparisons are kind of meaningless. If wind power is still cheaper to produce than fossil power, all these maneuverings by regulators are just trying to get the best of a still-good deal. We should also consider the environmental and health costs of continued fossil burning.
No one cares about the environmental costs of fossil burning
If they did, Pilgrim would still be running and Germany wouldn't have ditched the humble atom in favor of dirty coal. Yay Greens!
Ignores the revenue that can be generated
The article conveniently overlooks the revenue generated by the offshore leases.
Short term costs may be 217% higher than fossil fuels but those always go up but the cost off offshore in the future will likley go down.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/offshore-wind-can-lower-energy-...
Offshore wind bid payments per expected megawatt-hour (MWh) are 217 percent higher than they are for oil and gas.10 Increased focus on renewables could therefore increase revenue generated through offshore leasing tremendously, maximizing returns on public resources.
Offshore wind has its virtues
Offshore wind has its virtues but also serious limitations. The current economic situation of the wind industry is one thing. The UK, which is already heavily invested in wind power offers another cautionary tale; wind droughts. They will likely increase in frequency in the Northern Atlantic.
The short version is in this 2-minute video:
https://news.sky.com/story/future-of-renewable-energy-in-balance-as-uk-s...
The longer version in this article where among other things we learn that (physics) a 10% drop in wind speed results in a 30% drop in generated electricity.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/global-stilling-is-climate-change-slowing...
I was in New Bedford today and drove past stacks of them
New Bedford has a bunch of wind turbines stacked up and ready to ship offshore to assemble. We shall see how it goes! I wish I could post photos here as they are massive !
I also wonder if we can use the tremendous force of the tides and ocean to generate electricity and how efficient that is?
We can, actually!
It's pretty tough though and there aren't many good spots for it in the USA:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/tidal-energy/
The Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy (which is not the USA but Canada, but literally right over the border from Maine) has the strongest tides in the world because the bay is the right size and shape to produce a strong resonance, although the engineering difficulty has been building something that can withstand tides that strong.
https://www.texasmonthly.com
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/sweetwater-wind-turbine-blade...
I'll never understand the electricity industry
Wait, the state is responsible for procuring electric power? On whose behalf? I assume this is for the public rather than the state's own use. But wasn't there supposed to be a free market?
If prices for wind power are high, is it possible for the state to get on the other side of the deal, and make money off it rather than losing money, by building the wind turbines itself and selling the power rather than buying it?