Offshore wind blows

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 01/04/2024

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Economic reality abides.

Daily Caller (1/3/24) reports: "The two firms behind a major offshore wind project decided to cancel a contract to supply power from the development on Wednesday, dealing a major blow to President Joe Biden’s massive green energy agenda. Equinor and British Petroleum (BP), the firms working in a joint venture to construct the enormous Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, canceled a contract with New York state to sell power generated by the project, citing inflationary pressures, high interest rates and supply chain problems, Equinor announced. The cancellation stands as the latest sign of trouble for the offshore wind industry, which the Biden administration is counting on to produce enough energy to power 10 million American homes for one year by 2030...'Politicians may try to resuscitate it, but this extends offshore wind’s losing streak, which is quite impressive,' Dan Kish, a senior research fellow for the Institute for Energy Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation regarding the project and its future prospects. 'Even with Biden’s Green New Deal slathering cash all over these things, they can’t seem to grease the skids enough to make these things work.' The problems facing offshore wind are widespread and severe enough that several energy policy experts previously told the DCNF that they expect the federal government to step in to effectively bail the industry out."

"In the U.S., 2024 will mark a major turning point. Those who still prefer their gas appliances, gasoline-powered vehicles, rare steaks, and innumerable other benefits of modern society need to recognize that this may be the last time they have a chance to keep those choices available in the future."

– Duggan Flanakin,
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow

The ocean. The Great Lakes. It appears wind isn't making the cut anywhere. But of course, "fossil fuel dark money" is always the scapegoat.

Western Journal (1/2/24) reports: "A project to put wind turbines in Lake Erie has collapsed amid higher-than-expected costs and other challenges that doomed the project. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., which sought to put six wind turbines on the lake about eight miles from Cleveland, announced in early December it has 'made the difficult decision to temporarily halt the Icebreaker Wind project,' according to Cleveland,com...The blog Master Resource — published by the Institute for Energy Research — chortled that “The Great Lakes will not be ‘the Saudi Arabia of wind.’ Less is always best with government-dependent industrial wind.' A news release posted by the Port of Cleveland cited 'frivolous and costly lawsuits funded by dark money tied to fossil fuel interests' and concerns for the impact of the turbines on birds as contributing to the death of the project, which had been proposed in 2009. 'This burdensome litigation caused years of delays and significant expense. The delays have led to a constrained economics for the project,' the release said."

When gas prices are up, it's not the President's fault. When prices go down, however...

The voters agree - it's time to Save Our Cars.

Washington Times (1/3/24) reports: "The majority of Virginia voters say they want state lawmakers to repeal an electric vehicle mandate that would ban the sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy and commissioned by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers lobbying group, showed that 57% of respondents want the Virginia General Assembly to repeal the law, while 30% were opposed and 13% unsure. Virginia is among the roughly dozen states following California’s move to outlaw new gas-powered cars starting in 2035 by requiring automakers to have zero-emission fleets to combat climate change. The mandates, which are designed to force automakers and consumers to go electric, begin to take effect in 2025. Virginia state lawmakers will convene a 60-day session starting Wednesday, during which debate is again expected over measures to repeal the EV mandate after failing to pass such legislation last year."

Remember friends, when President Biden makes it harder to mine in the U.S., it means more mining with worse environmental and labor outcomes in other countries.

Nature (1/3/24) reports: "Mining is a crucial industry — from iron and copper to gravel and sand, we depend on it for the basic building blocks of the modern world. It is a fast changing sector, as the clean energy transition and digitalization boost demand for materials such as cobalt and lithium and curb the need for others, such as fossil fuels. Yet we know surprisingly little about what’s going on in the sector globally and how mining affects the environment and communities near mines. Much of what we do know isn’t good. Climate change isn’t the only problem associated with coal mining, for example1. In Indonesia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, rainforests are being cleared for coal mines and these mines pose safety risks — since 2011, more than 40 people, mostly children, have drowned in poorly managed coal pits. The demand for materials, and the rush for lithium in particular — which is used in batteries for electric vehicles — is raising concerns that the global appetite for energy is coming at too great a cost. In 2022, in Serbia, for example, massive protests over fears of habitat destruction and toxic-waste spills led to licences being revoked for a proposed lithium mine...For example, Indonesia produces around half of the world’s supply of nickel, which is needed for electric-vehicle batteries. The Mandiodo nickel mining block of Sulawesi, Indonesia, stands out in satellite imagery, with its expansive vegetation clearing and operations in close proximity to waterways. The region hosts a mix of large formal mines and smaller mines, yet there’s little public information on either. The vast realm of small, artisanal and illegal mines that are not bound by standard reporting requirements is a global problem. The extent of small-scale mining on mineral production varies between commodities and countries, but it is massive. Illegal sand mining, for example, is prevalent in at least 70 countries."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $72.77
Natural Gas: ↑ $2.77
Gasoline: ↓ $3.09

Diesel: ↓ $3.97
Heating Oil: ↑ $261.84
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $78.28
US Rig Count: ↑ 661

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