Offshore wind, but make it float

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Feb 23, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell An illustration of floating offshore wind turbines. | Josh Bauer/National Renewable Energy Laboratory The Biden administration is betting on floating offshore wind power to turbocharge its low-carbon agenda. The new but quickly developing technology is designed to wrangle powerful gusts from the deep blue and could greatly expand the nation’s supply of wind power, writes POLITICO’s E&E News reporter David Iaconangelo. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently called floating offshore wind “one of the most promising clean energy technologies for the 21st century.” How it works: Conventional offshore wind turbines are anchored to foundations buried directly into the ocean floor. But once water gets more than 200 feet deep, these structures become incredibly costly if not impossible to build. Floating wind turbines, on the other hand, rest on buoyant platforms anchored to the seabed by a chain or rope. The administration is especially eyeing the technology for Northern California, where some of the nation’s strongest offshore winds blow but the continental shelf drops off quickly. The first offshore wind sale in the Pacific Ocean last year netted $757 million — all for floating wind. The benefits could be huge: Two-thirds of U.S. offshore wind resources are in deepwater areas. On the East Coast, where turbines are already rising in shallow waters, some governors say a second layer of floating projects far out of sight could capitalize on stronger winds while avoiding opposition from coastal residents who call turbines an eyesore. But here’s the rub: The U.S. now has zero floating wind projects, and building out the infrastructure from scratch would likely cost a lot. The administration aims to slash costs up to 70 percent by 2035 — a goal known as its Floating Offshore Wind Shot. Another major issue is how to get the wind power from the turbine to the grid. The administration has allocated $100 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to launch a 20-month study on how to build these transmission networks, some of which would need to be more than 65 miles long. Still, President Joe Biden’s team remains seemingly undaunted. “We are positioning ourselves not just to catch up and seize the lead, but really to forge the frontier of a new technology,” Ali Zaidi, the White House’s national climate adviser, said at a recent offshore wind summit.   It's Thursday— thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Zack Colman breaks down why Biden's green transition has a labor problem and how industry is responding.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     Power Centers President Joe Biden is pictured standing with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. | AP Photo/Rebecca Droke Climate club: Accepting new members The Labor Department was established in 1913 during President William Howard Taft's administration with a mandate to improve conditions for workers. Now it's a climate change agency, writes Robin Bravender. That's thanks to the Biden administration’s push to focus on climate across the federal government and the massive climate law that links tax incentives for clean energy projects to workplace standards. Shielding the Arctic One of the world’s top funders of progressive campaigns is promoting a controversial plan to shield the rapidly melting Arctic from the warmth of the sun, writes Corbin Hiar. Billionaire George Soros announced his support for a proposal to increase cloud cover at the top of the world in a speech last week at the Munich Security Conference. Russia's war The EU has failed to sign off on a round of sanctions against Russia, leaving the bloc struggling to finalize a deal in time to mark the first anniversary on Friday of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, write Leonie Kijewski and Jacopo Barigazzi. Diplomats said agreement had been reached on nearly all of the package, but Poland was objecting to proposed restrictions on imports of synthetic rubber that it claims aren't strong enough. In Other News Hidden costs: This “climate-friendly” fuel comes with an astronomical cancer risk. Hot and cold: This Philly drag show is tackling climate change — on ice. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Former President Donald Trump speaks at the East Palestine Fire Department. | AP Photo/Matt Freed Former President Donald Trump took his slow-burning presidential campaign to the site of the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, where he trashed Biden's climate agenda. The nation's top energy regulator took action to prevent an “exorbitant” increase in electric bills in part of the eastern United States, in a move that rattled the nation’s largest power market. The Energy Department is offering up to $2.5 billion to fund carbon capture and storage technology development projects. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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