Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – This past week, the United States joined the rest of the advanced industrial countries in the world in having at least one functioning large offshore wind farm. Governor Kathy Hochul and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, among others, flipped a large electrical switch to signal that all 12 of the large wind turbines built by Orsted and Eversource Energy 35 miles off Long Island are now functional. Construction began in 2017.
The wind farm will generate 130 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 70,000 average-size homes. Long Island is usually spoken of as Nassau and Suffolk counties. Nassau County has roughly 450,000 households, so this one wind farm could power over 15% of them.
Hochul posted on on X,
“With the flip of a switch, utility-scale offshore wind power is officially being generated in the United States. An incredible moment for Long Island, New York, and our entire country.”
In a statement released after a visit to Stony Brook Southampton, the governor said, “When I broke ground on the South Fork project, I made a promise to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers. I’m keeping to that promise and South Fork Wind is now delivering clean energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses on Long Island. With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future and I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”
The average cost for residential electricity to PSEG Long Island customers is 22.24 cents per kilowatt hour. that is 9.93% higher than the 20.23 cents the typically paid by other state residents.
The East End Beacon notes that the the cost of the South Fork electricity is 16 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 90 MGW produced, and 8.6 cents/ kWh for an additional 40 megawatts. (Wind turbines are falling in price). So that is about 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour to begin with for the 130 megawatt capacity. What I’m trying to say is that this electricity generated by offshore wind is much less expensive that what Long Islanders are now paying. Even though a 2% per annum rate hike is built in over 20 years, the residents are getting a great deal here.
Governor Kathy Hochul Video, “Governor Hochul Announces Completion of South Fork Wind”
And the electricity is actually even cheaper since it is avoiding six million tons of deadly, planet-wrecking carbon dioxide each year. That is, if you figure in the cost of billion-dollar climate disasters per year caused by burning fossil fuels, Long Island residents aren’t paying 22 cents a kilowatt hour for their hydrocarbon-generated electricity, they are paying more like a dollar or two.
The project generated hundreds of union jobs, and Hochul is dedicated, according to The East Hampton Star, to standing “up a brand-new domestic supply chain.” She explained, “You know why? Because I don’t ever want to be vulnerable to geopolitical concerns or supply chains or ships that are jammed up in ports. I’m not predicting another Covid event, but my god, we learned some lessons. And we have to make sure we build here in America.”
The governor noted the opposition to the project among some residents worried about their beach and from fishermen. At 35 miles offshore, it is difficult to see how the project could affect beaches (the turbines can’t be seen), and there is no evidence that offshore windfarms interfere with fishing. As Hochul noted, it is global heating that is endangering beaches.
Offshore wind turbines benefit from the stronger and steadier winds that blow over the oceans as compared with onshore windmills.
The US is now playing catch-up in this sector. China has the most offshore wind farms, followed by Britain, Germany, Vietnam and Denmark. But China has 105 wind farms, and Britain has 39. No one is in China’s league here.
The International Trade Administration notes, “Offshore wind currently contributes about 13% to the UK electricity mix. The UK now possess around 12.7 GW of connected offshore wind energy across 44 wind farms totaling over 2,500 turbines. It installed over 2.3 GW of new installations in 2021 alone which made up 70% of total installations in Europe that year.”
So now we have 12 offshore wind turbines and 130 MW. The British did that much, apparently, on one day during their lunch break.
President Biden has set a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, which observers are saying will be difficult for the US to reach. It is estimated, however, that offshore wind alone could provide all the electricity the US could ever want.
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