Siemens Gamera, ,a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, , Has backed out of a 200 plus million dollar deal with Portsmouth,Va according to Va Port Authority statement… They had been staging for quite some time. Disappointing for the port, but no surprise due to the expenses incurred due to many,many obstacles, The tax breaks, subsidies,incentives, Siemens money…All gone,Orsted has suffered the same fate…
Bummer to see it. Seemed like a net positive for the region. Oh well, maybe they’ll let us tie up over there again.
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That terminal in Portsmouth was not in recent use due to the more modern/bigger cranes for box ships across the creek. It did look promissing for a bit. Sad they couldnt repurpose the still very valuable waterfront property There is an ass for every seat as a car salesman friend from decades ago told me, Last income before the Siemans debacle was the 3.or 4 forieign cruise ships docking there that went out of service during the covid stuff.
They used to let tugs tie up at PMT prior to offshore wind moving in. Made the trip over to VIG a lot quicker…
In the long run, these offshore wind cancellations are a very good thing. Let’s see how Vineyard Wind works out over the next few years, then reevaluate whether to build more offshore wind.
Offshore Wind may be feasible with inflation back at 2% and low interest rates, but it’s not now.
When and if the time comes to build US offshore wind, US Government subsidies must be paid only to majority US Citizen owned companies.
Divert some of that subsidy money that’s already appropriated to building a few state of the art offshore wind installation and cable laying vessels. If there is going to be a next time, we need to be ready.
It’s not just offshore wind that’s in trouble.
The new technology small nuclear plant planned for Idaho has also been scrubbed due to costs being driven 53% higher by inflation. I believe that was a Bill Gates backed project.
How much higher can the US budget deficit go before there is a financial collapse?
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It is a blade factory that is being cancelled. The wind farm will go ahead the blades will just come from Europe instead.
I remember Governor Youngkin had a press conference about all the jobs and revenue this Blade manufacturing outfit would bring in. Now all that is leaving for Europe,. Tugsailor makes some good points.
I love renewables as much as anyone, but I’ve got to admit, we have so much land why are we making so much harder by building them offshore? We arent packed in like sardines in Europe, looking at google earth its gotta be cheaper and easier to build 200 windmills in Pungo, VA than 40km off Virginia Beach.
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NIMBY…
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I would say in this case, it never left Europe (or wherever they typically made them).
I was recently in Washington State near West Richpland,. Got a tour of the wind farms on the hills and mountains, This particular system had about 530 platforms. most were 150 to 300 feet tall. No one around for miles.They’ve been there for many moons, Company has no plans whatsoever to build offshore.
Back in the 70s we had a bumper sticker:
“Let the bastards freeze in the dark.”
I don’t want the NIMBYS to freeze in the dark, I just want them to pay three times as much for energy as their sensible neighbors.
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Transporting electricity long distance is very hard and most open land with reliable wind is well away from population centers. Since most population centers are right on the coast building offshore is much closer to where the electricity is needed.
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Nobody wants that shit in pungo
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NIMBYS in Pungo?
Is that surface? At 100M on Windy the breeze looks pretty consistent over land as well.
The Maritime Executive September/October 2023 issue, page 20 Has an article called Blowing in the Wind by G Allen Brooks that clearly outlines the current state of wind energy
You might be right. I can seem to find exactly what it is.