Biden administration details $1 T wind initiative to create jobs and clean energy

 

Four departments in the Biden administration announced an ambitious goal to construct windfarms and related infrastructure to generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, enough to serve 10 million American homes.

The focus of the shared initiative by the departments of Interior, Energy, Commerce and Transportation is to create tens of thousands of jobs based on $12 billion per year in government capital investments in projects on both U.S. coasts and the Gulf of Mexico, according to a statement released Monday. Over a period of 9 years, that investment totals more than $1 trillion.

The announcement portends potential perks for makers of power electronics used in wind turbines. Generators used in the power electronics of wind turbines include induction generators and synchronous generators. Doubly-fed induction generators are made up of a wound rotor, induction generator and an AC/DC/AC converter.  All those components rely on electronics and chips or interfaces.

Already on Monday, the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium in the Department of Energy announced 15 new projects that will receive $8 million for offshore wind support structure innovation as well as supply chain development, electrical systems innovation and solutions for impact on wildlife and radar. 

Among the awardees were GE Research for innovations in transmission hardware and ULC Robotics for unmanned drones to help provide operations and maintenance support for offshore wind projects.

The administration put the overall offshore wind job potential at 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030, with another 33,000 in communities supported by offshore wind work.

In addition to job creation, the plan predicts supply chain benefits, including with new port upgrades valued at $500 million and one to two new U.S. factories to make each major windfarm component, including wind turbine nacelles, blades, towers, foundations and subsea cables. That would mean 7 million tons of steel. Also, four to six specialized turbine installation ocean vessels would be constructed at up to $500 million apiece.

The plan even includes a goal of reaching 110 gigawatts from wind power by 2050, generating 77,000 offshore wind jobs and 57,000 additional jobs in communities.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called the wind goal “proof our commitment to using American ingenuity and might to invest in our nation, advance our own energy security and combat the climate crisis.”  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her department will create partnerships to advance “the best science and data to ensure the development of offshore wind is transparent and inclusive of all stakeholders.”

Offshore wind farms have elicited opposition from recreational and commercial fishermen and coastal tourism officials.   However, the alternative to wind power in some locations will mean more natural gas plants, more pipelines and more fracking, a Sierra Club executive told the Washington Post.

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