Feds announce largest-ever competitive lease sale for offshore wind

Fuel Fix ^ | November 24, 2014 | Ryan Holeywell

[thackney]

The federal government today announced that it will hold its largest-ever competitive lease sale for offshore wind development in January.

The feds will allow a dozen developers to bid on access to more than 742,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts (map) starting Jan. 29, the Interior Department said Monday.

The sale would triple the amount of federal offshore acreage available for commercial-scale offshore wind development, the department said.

That area — if fully developed — could support as much as five gigawatts of commercial wind generation, enough to power more than 1.4 million homes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“This offshore wind energy area not only has the capacity to generate enough electricity to power half the homes in Massachusetts, but it will create local jobs and a renewable and home-grown source of power,” Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement.

Ten companies have expressed interest in the lease area, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The federal government has awarded seven commercial wind energy leases off the Atlantic coast to date.

Offshore wind projects were first developed in 1991. Since then, they’ve primarily operated in Europe. The federal government has been trying to promote them here in the U.S., since more than half the country’s population lives in coastal areas, and offshore winds tend to blow more forcefully and uniformly than wind over land.

Globally, about 4.45 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity has been installed across more than 50 projects, according to the BOEM.

[mountainlion]

Billy’ Carters brother Jimmy put huge wind farms into business with huge subsidies. When the wind mills broke down and the subsidies ran out the windmills became junk on the horizon.

[MeshugeMikey]

alas..nope the loons are impervious to such things....in fact they seem to be impervious to almost everything

[MeshugeMikey]

how dare we disrespect the Plans to The Great Planning Bureau and Development Bank..

[Joe Boucher]

teddy the killer Kennedy pleaded that this not be done.
Up yours teddy, so sayeth obammy.

[iowacornman]

Talk about environmental ruination!! You can’t make up what a desaster that is. I fully expect Federal court injuctive relief.

[Eva]

Maybe they can find some kind of small fis that needs protection.

[thackney]

I think Ted’s issue was only with the much closer Cape Wind Project on the other side of Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard.

[thackney]

Talk about environmental ruination!

I don't see this as worse than an oil platform. I'm in favor of those.

[1Old Pro]

The map indicates it’s on the “other” side of the islands so they wouldn’t be seen from the cape?

[Cementjungle]

doesn King Obie vacation at hyannis??

His elections are done, and he doesn't have to kiss up to those rich white Dem donors any more... so screw 'em.

[thackney]

Even from Martha’s Vineyard, it is going to be hard to see much of anything from at least 12 miles away. Tall enough to be seen over the horizon but I doubt wide enough for the eye to see.

[Nachoman]

I can’t think of a better place for this except for San Francisco Bay.

[thackney]

Farm Neck and Oak Bluffs golf clubs are on the North Side of the Martha’s Vineyard. No Golf Clubs on the South side of the Island.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/golf+club/@41.4011798,-70.6583226,12z/data=!3m1!4b1

[1Old Pro]

I’ve played Farm Neck a few summers ago, before I learned Obama played there.

[familyop]

Folks down around the Gulf coast will probably let you take all of the replacement seagulls that you’d want. ;-)

[Torquay]

I smell a SOLYNDRA scam taking shape.

How many want to bet that some of the "competitive" bidder "developers" are connected somehow to crooks at the fed?

These connected "crook" developers will use our federal tax dollars after winning said bid to launder money back to the very same crooks in the fed via campaign donations? Of course before filing bankruptcy!

[thackney]

Basically, it is done the same as the offshore oil lease auctions.

[headstamp 2]

That’s OK. The birds will fall into the drink. Out of sight out of mind for the liberal idiot tree huggers. Enables them to continue maintaining the fantasy.

[smoky415]

The German Riffgat off shore wind turbines are really visible from shore. They are 9 miles out.

http://www.taz.de/uploads/images/684x342/web_n1_auf_riffgat_6sp_4c.jpg

[taildragger]

Yet they will not Frack the Formation in Western-Mass and Connecticut, even though the field is supposedly immature ( paging Harold Vinegar...)

And the locals finally gave a go ahead to a Bio-Mass Plant in Palmer, but the Folks in Springfield don't want it. And to top it off, I don't think they extra gas pipeline needed in Mass. is going anywhere and I read in the Greenfield Area the Gas Company will not take new Customers because of a limited infrastructure.

They have "Nimby'd" themselves into a box, I have gobs of family their, and their energy picture doesn't look pretty and it is in many ways their politician's and their green energy fixation that is at fault.