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CHOPPY WATERS: As the Biden administration prepares to hold its first offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow, it will do so in a region that is much more challenging for development than the Northeast, where much of the nation’s offshore wind is consolidated — and where any would-be projects will likely face a bevy of insurance, installation, and environmental hurdles before coming online.
The sales, announced last month by the Interior Department, include three lease areas offshore of Louisiana and Texas. Combined, they could generate some 3.7 GW in wind energy, or enough to power some 1.3 million homes.
But experts are skeptical about its potential for offshore wind generation, noting that the Gulf has lower wind speeds than the Northeast, softer soils that will complicate construction, and a hurricane season that lasts for half the year.
Hurricane risk: Since 2017, at least half a dozen hurricanes have barreled onto shores of Gulf Coast states as either Category 4 or 5 storms — bringing gale-force winds, deadly storm surges, and tornadoes that are frequently formed in the bands of the storms. The length of hurricane season in the Gulf could derail or delay installation of any offshore wind projects and could put installed turbines at frequent risk of collapse.
Such concerns aren’t limited to the Gulf: Last year, offshore wind developer Orsted asked authorities to suspend vessel traffic off the coast of Denmark and a handful of other areas after the blades from one of its wind turbines fell into the sea.
And lawmakers from the Northeast voiced concern about destructive storms at a field hearing along the New Jersey coast in March. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) quoted from a 2012 Carnegie Mellon University study that found there is a “very substantial risk that a Category 3 or higher hurricane can destroy half or more of the turbines at some locations.”
“The vulnerability of massive structures the size of the Chrysler Building to hurricanes, nor’easters and superstorms has not been adequately investigated and vetted,” Smith said. “Imagine 1,000-foot poles falling like dominoes into the sea.”
Looking ahead: Developers have expressed a reluctance to invest in the area due to the many environmental unknowns — including in Texas, where offshore wind could be especially lucrative as the state looks to increase capacity to help alleviate strain on its power grid.
Some companies have started work to develop environmentally resilient turbines. The New Orleans-based company Gulf Wind Technology, for example, recently teamed up with Shell to begin developing turbines that can withstand high-speed winds and other weather patterns unique to the region.
But in the interim, it’s “harder to justify an investment decision” in the Gulf, Alon Carmel, a partner at PA Consulting who advises offshore wind companies, told Reuters.
…MEANWHILE, HURRICANE IDALIA INTENSIFIES AS IT NEARS FLORIDA: President Joe Biden said this morning he has approved the request from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for emergency declaration for Tropical Storm Idalia, the quickly strengthening storm barreling toward Florida as a “dangerous major hurricane,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida midweek. Its path has been highly erratic, and forecasters said Floridains should prepare for dangerous winds and an increasing likelihood of a “life-threatening storm surge” that could rise up to 11 feet above normal levels in some parts of the state.
DeSantis warned residents today to expect power outages when Idalia makes landfall and has already mobilized some 1,110 National Guard members to assist with aerial and water rescues as needed.
“Idalia has already strengthened more than anticipated, and the environment looks ripe for additional intensification, possibly rapid,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
UN TREATY GETS AN UPDATE: A United Nations committee updated a key treaty on Monday created to protect children’s rights to strengthen their hand in fighting climate change, Reuters reports.
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child revised the treaty to define environmental degradation, including the climate crisis, as a “form of structural violence against children.” It asserted that states should provide access to justice for children, including by “removing barriers for children to initiate proceedings themselves.”
Some 16,000 children across more than 100 countries were consulted as part of a broader dialogue during the two-year drafting period for the guidelines. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg asked the committee to be “more vigorous and somewhat bolder” during consultations, U.N. committee member Philip Jaffé told Reuters. More on that here.
ANOTHER ERCOT NOTICE: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced its fourth consecutive conservation notice on Sunday, requesting that consumers conserve electricity use between the hours of 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The organization cited low wind and solar generation, along with high demand, as the reason why ERCOT reserves were expected to be low heading into Sunday night.
The conservation request comes as the organization’s fourth since Thursday, issuing notices for the entire weekend. For all of the notices that were issued, the organization clarified that it was not experiencing emergency conditions but that current forecasts were showing it could enter emergency operations.
The conservation notices were issued as Texas power prices hit a 30-month high and demand reached record-breaking levels with consumers cranking up their air conditioners to escape the triple-digit heat wave.
WILDFIRE LAWSUIT ‘IRRESPONSIBLE,’ PER HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC: Hawaiian Electric pushed back against Maui County’s lawsuit alleging that it’s responsible for the wildfires that killed more than 110 people — and laid out a series of statements that appear to distance itself from liability.
The utility company asserted in a statement issued on Sunday that the afternoon wildfire, which was reported around 3 p.m. local time on Aug. 8 in West Maui, started more than six hours after all of Hawaiian Electric’s power lines in the area had been de-energized.
“We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation,” Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, said in a statement. “We believe the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible. … Unfortunately, the county’s lawsuit may leave us no choice in the legal system but to show its responsibility for what happened that day.”
The utility company said the cause of the afternoon fire “has not been determined.”
The county’s lawsuit accused Hawaiian Electric of acting negligently by failing to shut down its equipment despite warnings that hurricane winds could knock power lines down and spark wildfire. The lawsuit seeks to recover “public resource damages,” which include losses to public infrastructure, fire response costs, losses to revenues, increased costs, environmental damages, and losses of historical or cultural landmarks.
“The people of Lahaina have suffered an unthinkable but — our lawsuit alleges — preventable tragedy,” said John Morgan, the founder of Morgan & Morgan, the law firm leading the suit against Hawaiian Electric. “We will continue our investigation to ensure all vital evidence is preserved so we can hold Hawaiian Electric and all those responsible for this catastrophe accountable to the fullest extent of the law for their actions and inactions.” Read more from Nancy here.
EXXON’S 2050 CARBON EMISSIONS FORECAST: Exxon Mobil is expecting the globe to fail to reduce emissions fast enough to limit global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial norms by 2050 due to soaring economic growth, particularly in developing countries.
As Bloomberg reports, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will be 25 billion metric tons by 2050 — more than twice the 11 billion tons needed to meet the standards set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2-degree scenario, Exxon said Monday in its annual Energy Outlook. While that figure represents a drop of more than 25% from the 34 billion ton peak expected this decade, it’s a long way from what’s required to meet the goals set by the 2016 Paris Agreement.
“The world’s ability to reduce these emissions by 25%, even as the global economy grows by more than 100%, is a testament to the significant progress expected to be made,” Exxon said. “Even so, more is needed to hit the emission-reduction levels required to keep global temperature increases below 2C.”
The Rundown
Bloomberg How an oil giant took control of biden’s billion-dollar bet on carbon capture
The Hill How ‘disaster politics’ could help make — or break — Newsom’s future
