Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged decline in bidding, Denmark wind sale, Jens Christiansen, no bids, US Atlantic on December 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Jens Christiansen offers this explanation for the absence of bids for wind leases offered in the recent Danish sale:
“The value of offshore wind energy in Denmark has declined.
The capture price remains consistently lower than the market price throughout 2024. When the wind blows, the market saturates and the capture price drops This is why the latest offshore wind tender yielded nothing.”
A related BOE post points to the sharp decline in bids for US offshore wind leases.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged Denmark, no bids, North Sea, Orsted, wind leases on December 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Danish Energy Agency: “The deadline for bidding on the first 3 GW of Denmark’s 6 GW offshore wind tendering procedure expired on Thursday. The Danish Energy Agency has not received bids for any of the three offshore wind farms in the North Sea put out to tender. The Minister for Climate, Energy, and Utilities has asked The Danish Energy Agency to engage in dialogue with the market to identify why no bids have been submitted.“
Even Orsted, which is 50.1% Danish govt owned, failed to submit a bid. Perhaps the economic realities of offshore wind, as reflected in Orsted’s share price (below) are sinking in.
Posted in climate, energy policy, natural gas, Wind Energy, tagged coal, Die Dunkelflaute, emperor's clothes, energy policy, germany, natural gas, UK on December 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Germany: Coal and gas vs. Die Dunkelflaute
Spot-on from Bernie, a UK poster on X:
“NET ZERO – I want to be clear: I am not against advancement in energy technologies. Humanity should always develop and progress.
What I oppose is bankrupting the country by gambling taxpayers’ money on the emperor’s new clothes. Because that’s what these experimental technologies are currently. The misinformation being fed to the public is a disgrace.
Technologies like carbon capture, flywheels, and large-scale battery storage are being sold to us as the future and that we can lead the world! I don’t want to gamble with my tax thanks. The only thing we will lead the world in, is being the first country to bankrupt itself on the alter of Net zero and they haven’t even given us a choice!
These experimental technologies will cost not £ billions but £ TRILLIONS and provide little benefit to the average citizen, they simply benefit global corporations and those with vested interests.
The government should have focused on upgrading the national grid as a first step. At the very least it would enable us to use the renewable energy we are creating currently, rather than paying £ billions in subsidies for providers not to supply.
Instead, we’re rushing headlong into experimental technologies that are still in test phase. We are investing in these theoretical technologies before we can even observe their real world performance, evaluate value for money, or knowing if practically they will even work! And let’s face it, installations of both fly wheels and carbon capture machines have both failed financially or practically worldwide.
The hypocrisy around emissions and claims that these new technologies are “cleaner and greener” is an outrageous lie. Whether deliberate or misguided, this misinformation is unacceptable. The British public deserves open-book transparency on costs, timelines, and actual impacts. If the government cannot provide this, they must step aside and bring in independent teams—free from vested interests—to evaluate and advise. And then the British public should be offered a vote.
The ideological, socialist pipe dream of hitting a fictitious 2030 target will bankrupt the country. Worse, it will make us entirely dependent on banks and foreign entities that will dictate our policies for decades.
And we are doing all of this whilst we have at least 200 years of domestic energy resources in the ground, the ‘emergency’ propaganda is simply untrue. But instead of bringing energy prices down in order to enable growth, which in turn would generate GDP, which in turn frees up domestic funds to invest in research, we’re sacrificing our economic stability and sovereignty for technology that will be outdated before we’ve even finished building it!.. because technology works like that!
Some people are getting very rich, some people are gaining global attention and others are simply fools. It is unacceptable to me.“
Posted in accidents, energy policy, pipelines, Russia, tagged Andromeda, Der Spiegel, Gazprom, Jeffrey Brodsky, Michael Kobs, Nord Stream, Russia, Ukraine on December 4, 2024| 2 Comments »
Just when we were settling on Der Spiegel’s account of the Nord Stream sabotage, Michael Kobs provides reasons for skepticism. Are the detailed revelations in Der Spiegel part of a coordinated effort to relieve governments of any responsibility and glorify the destruction of economically important pipelines?
“Since the German arrest warrant for a participant in the Nord Stream terrorist attack, efforts have also increased in Germany to portray the terrorist attack as a “legitimate” or even “admirable” war effort. However, the greatest effort is to relieve the burden on state actors. And so, since recently, the alleged perpetrators seem to be chatting without reservation, spreading out every little detail in front of journalists, and putting every (already revealed) fact in the “right” non-governmental light.” ~Michael Kobs
Kolb also raises questions about the circuitous route followed by the Andromeda in arriving at the blast sites (illustration below) and the presence of 3 US Navy warships in the area. His piece is interesting reading for those who are still trying to make sense of all of this.
Meanwhile, independent journalist Jeffrey Brodsky continues to delve deeply into Nord Stream issues. A recent interesting and detailed piece refutes assertions that Gazprom and Russia somehow benefited from the Nord Stream attack. Mr. Brodsky provides evidence to the contrary concluding that the destruction of the pipelines has contributed significantly to Gazprom’s financial problems. He noted that:
Unsurprisingly, the “experts” and politicians who argued that the Nord Stream sabotage would benefit Gazprom and Russia have failed to modify or correct their assertions. Mr. Brodsky concludes his detailed analysis as follows:
“However, despite the numerous facts that have emerged since the attack, the damage caused to Russia and Gazprom by the sabotage remains willfully ignored. Politicians and experts who claimed that the sabotage would be beneficial to Russia or Gazprom financially, legally or geopolitically seem to have merely skimmed the first chapters of the Nord Stream story. So far, almost none of them have publicly corrected themselves after hastily familiarizing themselves with its complex plot. But since the perpetrator of the sabotage has not yet been unmasked, they still have the opportunity to pre-order the unfinished sequel to the book. Perhaps it will end up being an international bestseller. ~ Jeffrey Brodsky
Posted in climate, energy policy, Uncategorized, tagged coal companies, ESG, Ken Paxton, sues asset managers, Texas on November 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton:
“Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street utilized the Climate Action 100 and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative to signal their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans across the United States.
These firms also deceived thousands of investors who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits. Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.”
Note that this litigation may also have implications for the oil and gas industry. The complete filing is attached.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged Good Neighbor Agreement, Nantucket, Nexit, petition, SouthCoast Wind, Vineyard Wind on November 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A recent Nantucket Current piece criticizes the Nantucket Select Board for failing to address community concerns about the attached Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) with Vineyard Wind. In particular, any discussion about the GNA was throttled at a recent public forum on the SouthCoast Wind project.
Some key points from the article and related thoughts:
The Nantucket GNA controversy should be carefully considered by other communities that are tempted by developer incentives to enter into agreements that may not be in their best long-term interest.
Will Nantucket exit (Nexit) the GNA? The pressure is building.
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, UK, tagged Beatrice Wind, Block Island Wind, German wind power, Gone with the Wind, subsidies, Wind Energy on November 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm has become the fourth UK windfarm to have received more than £1 billion in subsidy payments. The landmark was reached in just its seventh year of operation, suggesting that it could reach £2 billion over the course of its subsidy agreement.
Block Island Wind Farm – “America’s Starting Five” (first 5 offshore turbines) – reliably generates subsidies (table below).
Projected PPA subsidies for other Atlantic wind projects:
Vom Winde verweht: Germany will pay as much as €20 billion to wind and solar operators through the end of 2024, twice what grid operators had forecast in last October.
Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged Bjorn Lomborg, coal, Daniel Yergin, energy transition, JPMorgan, oil, renewables on November 25, 2024| 1 Comment »
Bjorn Lomborg graphics using IEA data:
Wisdom from Dan Yergin:
The 19th century is known as the “century of coal,” but, as the technology scholar Vaclav Smil has noted, not until the beginning of the 20th century did coal actually overtake wood as the world’s No. 1 energy source. Moreover, past energy transitions have also been “energy additions”—one source atop another. Oil, discovered in 1859, did not surpass coal as the world’s primary energy source until the 1960s, yet today the world uses almost three times as much coal as it did in the ’60s.
Aissatou Sophie Gladima, the energy minister of Senegal, put it more pithily: Restricting lending for oil and gas development, she said, “is like removing the ladder and asking us to jump or fly.”
Christyan Malek, JPMorgan’s top energy strategist: That intrinsic demand that is not visible is so significant that we don’t see demand peaking – I don’t think we’ll see [oil] demand peaking in our lifetimes,” he said. “Particularly as demand growth in [emerging markets] continues to surprise the upside.”
Alex Epstein graphic:
Posted in energy policy, pipelines, tagged germany, Nord Stream, pipeline acquisition, Russia, Stephen Lynch on November 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »
American businessman Stephen Lynch wants to acquire the Swiss company that controls the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
From his investment firm’s website: Over the last twenty years, Mr. Lynch has acquired and managed distressed assets in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia, and Ukraine. He specializes in securing cross-border collaboration on transactions and settlements around special situations and corporate conflicts. Lynch is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Lynch has worked closely with the US Department of The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to acquire and de-Russify important industrial assets in U.S. partner nations.
With regard to Nord Stream: “The bottom line is this: This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era,” Lynch told the Wall Street Journal.
Nord Stream 2 bankruptcy proceedings are scheduled to begin in January.
A “US official” told the Washington Post that a Nord Stream revival is not in the US interest right now. However, a resumption of the flow of Nord Stream gas could be a significant consideration in talks to end the Ukraine – Russian war. Also, in light of economic and energy supply challenges, there is growing German interest in restoring ties with Russia.
This appears to be a serious initiative on the part of Mr. Lynch that should not be discounted.
Also looming is a court decision in the litigation between Nord Stream AG and their insurers.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
Total wants to sit on their wind lease until the next administration (2029). Can they do that?
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged Attentive Energy, BOEM, CEO comments, COP deadline, diligent development, lease cancellation, OCSLA, Total, wind lease on December 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Impressive arrogance from the CEO of a foreign company that paid $795 million for a lease (OCS-A 0538) that was worth pennies on the dollar even before the Presidential election:
“Offshore wind, I have decided to put the project on pause” with Trump’s return, Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said at an energy industry conference in London on Tuesday.
“I said to my team, the project in New York, we’ll see that in four years,” he said. “But the advantage is it’s only for four years.”
Perhaps Mr. Pouyanne thinks Total owns those 84,332 acres in the Atlantic or that they have the right to hold the leased area indefinitely. They do not. The OCS Lands Act calls for diligent development of leases and BOEM has promulgated implementing regulations.
The Total (Attentive Energy) lease was issued on 5/1/2022. Per 30 CFR § 585.235(a)(1), the company must submit a Construction and Operations Plant (COP) no later than 5/1/2027, more than 20 months before the end of the Trump administration. BOEM will have ample time to act on the plan prior to the next administration.
BOEM could also call for progress updates and an earlier COP submittal if there is evidence that the lessee is not moving forward with development plans (as would already seem to be the case given Mr. Pouyanne’s public statements in London).
In the absence of progress in developing the lease, BOEM could seek cancellation (§ 556.1102) for failure to comply with the diligence mandate in OCSLA (556.1102 (a)). Cancellation could also be pursued based on misrepresentations in acquiring the lease (556.1102 (c)) or the threat of unacceptable harm to the environment or national security (556.1102 (d)).
Rather than making rash comments at a public forum in London, perhaps Mr. Pouyanne would have been wise to first meet with energy officials of the new administration early next year. At a minimum, the CEO’s comments will help justify any attempts to cancel the Total (Attentive Energy) lease on diligence grounds.
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