The AHT BOULDER assisted by three Boluda-Tugs with the KIN03 outbound from Rotterdam Maasvlakte enroute the Kincardine Windfarm offshore Scotland.
Photo: Frank Behling (c)
The Virginia SCC’s move to require a performance guarantee for Dominion’s offshore wind project is a shortsighted political move that will hurt Virginia ratepayers in the long run.
Dominion got into the offshore wind game early, obtaining the wind area lease for a relative bargain compared to the $900,000/sqkm for leasing rights seen in recent 2022 Offshore Wind Area auctions.
With Dominion threatening to scrap the whole project if the broadly written performance guarantee is finalized, Dominion would likely in turn sell the OWA lease area rights to another developer and reap a short term profit windfall. This would in turn saddle ratepayers with a (likely) non-utility developer building out offshore wind farms that would ultimately sell power to Virginia ratepayers at market rates, rather than prenegotiated cost certain rates.
While there’s nothing wrong with a non-utility OSW developer, the Virginia SCC is accountable to Virginians and is making a short-sighted decision that will cost Virginian ratepayers more in the long run. Virginia would be better off with Dominion developing the offshore wind farm without a performance guarantee than it would if Dominion scraps the project and sells to another developer.
More “hot air” that will die in DC gridlock, or could it become reality??
Development of the technology is advancing fast in Europe and Asia, so no need to reinvent in the US.
The first demonstration floating windmill was installed off Utsira, Norway in 2009:
The first floating wind farm has been in operation off Scotland since 2017:
Singapore has no place for offshore wind farm, but that doesn’t mean that Singapore companies don’t see opportunities in the worldwide offshore wind market:
