Floating in the wind (power)

Presented by Equinor: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Dec 06, 2022 View in browser   By Lamar Johnson Presented by Equinor A rendering of a floating wind turbine from Technip Energies. | Business Wire The Biden administration tried something new today: auctioning off plots in the Pacific for floating wind farms. Energy developers are bidding on five leases that take up an area larger than the city of Los Angeles. The administration hopes the winning companies will develop enough offshore floating wind to generate 4.5 gigawatts of power, writes POLITICO's E&E News reporter Heather Richards . That's enough electricity for about 1.5 million homes. The auction is the opening salvo in President Joe Biden's broader plan to generate 15 GW of energy from the floating wind industry, which uses cables to moor floating turbines to the seafloor. Floating wind is more versatile than the usual fixed-bottom turbines, which are limited to depths of 165 feet. But the technology is still in its infancy. The supply chain to develop floating wind farms isn't ready to build at scale yet, and there are also questions about whether ports have the capacity to build the turbines and send them out to sea. Samantha Woodworth, a senior wind research analyst for Wood Mackenzie, told Heather that floating offshore wind projects require "a little more of everything." The more traditional type of offshore wind — which is built on pylons fixed on the ocean floor — is already taking off. Earlier this year, developers bid a total of $4.4 billion for offshore wind development off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The administration aims to generate 30 GW of power from such offshore farms by 2030. So how much are floating wind leases worth? As of this afternoon, the five leases had gone through multiple rounds of bidding, with asking prices for each lease topping $60 million. The high bids for three central California plots, each more than 80,000 acres, were $75.3 million, $85 million and $100.3 million. The two leases off the coast of Eureka, Calif. — one for 63,000 acres and another for 69,000 acres — had asking prices of $62.7 million and $63.8 million, respectively. It's Tuesday! — Thank you for tuning into  POLITICO's Power Switch.  I'm your host, Lamar Johnson . Arianna will be back soon! Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments and questions to ljohnson@eenews.net. Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: The team brings in POLITICO chief UK correspondent Charlie Cooper to talk about the European Union's price cap on Russian oil and Russia's response .   A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. We all have a role to play. At Equinor, we're doing our part by growing our renewable energy portfolio and lowering emissions from production. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA.   Featured story Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo GOP says no to Joe Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) effort to get permitting changes included as part of the must-pass defense bill faced another hurdle Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he opposed the move, which is one of the few remaining avenues to pass Manchin's proposal this year. The permitting legislation could speed up energy projects by shortening environmental reviews, but progressives and environmental groups are opposed. POLITICO's Josh Siegel and Kelsey Tamborrino write that even with the public derision from some Senate Republicans, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was still talking about attaching the reform legislation to the National Defense Authorization Act in the Democratic caucus meeting Tuesday.   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .     Power Centers Making nice on electric vehicles The E.U. hopes the Biden administration will outline by Jan. 1 its plans to address Europe's concerns about a new electric vehicle tax credit, writes POLITICO's Doug Palmer. The credit, in the Inflation Reduction Act, requires EVs to be assembled in North America to qualify for a $7,500 tax credit, eliminating many overseas models that previously qualified. Hands off the thermostat E.U. leaders have capped the temperature of institutional buildings at 19 degrees Celsius, or about 66 degrees Fahrenheit, write POLITICO's Eddy Wax, Nicolas Camut and Wilhelmine Preussen . The move comes amid concerns over rising energy prices, with the backdrop of Russia's war on Ukraine.   A message from Equinor:   In Other News Traffic jam: The E.U.'s price cap on Russian oil inadvertently led to a traffic jam of oil tankers in the Turkish straits. The holdup is not expected to last long. Texas' crypto bet turning bust: Texas was aggressive in trying to lure cryptocurrency miners to the state, but rising energy costs and crypto's downturn is making that bet look like a bust . Composting your ... underwear?: In an effort to help cut down on textile waste, one Los Angeles-based company has taken to selling compostable underwear .   A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. Our world needs energy to keep moving forward — but it must be affordable, reliable, and accessible. We all have a role to play. At Equinor, we're doing our part by helping accelerate the energy transition. We're growing our renewable energy portfolio and lowering emissions from production. We're already on the way to powering 2,000,000 New York homes with energy from the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects. We're creating jobs, building tomorrow's infrastructure, and sparking new economic activity. But for us, that's only the beginning. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at http://www.equinor.com/USA.   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. California Gov. Gavin Newsom walks through the assembly chamber with California Controller Malia Cohen during the opening session of the California Legislature on Monday. | AP Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed a bill that would limit oil company profits and refund "excess" profits to consumers. Congressional Democrats say the Commerce Department's solar tariff ruling is a threat to the Biden administration's clean energy goals, though they are split on their reasoning why. The Interior Department announced plans to update an Obama-era plan that would streamline the permitting process for solar projects in Western states. That's it for today. Thanks for reading!   POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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