It’s Been A Brutal Year For Offshore Wind — Despite Analysts’ Best Guesses
NICK POPE
CONTRIBUTOR
April 28, 2024
Some analysts predicted that the U.S. offshore wind industry would bounce back after a rough 2023, but many of the same problems that plagued the industry last year have continued to burden developers through the beginning of 2024.
Energy data analytics provider Wood Mackenzie, consultants from Deloitte, Reuters and environmental lawyers for a law firm called Locke Lord variously projected that the U.S. offshore wind sector would rebound after a distressing 2023. However, four months in to 2024, the inflation, higher borrowing costs, logistical problems and supply chain woes that battered the industry in 2023 have not relented, forcing developers to cancel or seek to renegotiate deals as they did in 2023.
“Obviously, providing affordable and reliable energy for everyone is a challenging endeavor,” Kevin Dayaratna, a senior research fellow for the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Even despite all of the subsidies these alternative forms of energy – such as offshore wind – have received, they have still failed to become a significantly mainstream source of energy.” (RELATED: Blue State Doubles Down On Offshore Wind After 2023’s Massive Failure)
Since the start of 2023, approximately 60% of all contracts signed by American offshore wind developers have been cancelled, according to E&E News. Ørsted, a Danish company and one of the world’s leading offshore wind developers, backed out of two major planned projects in New Jersey in 2023, while other players like General Electric, British Petroleum (BP) and Equinor attempted to renegotiate with state governments as economic headwinds eroded projects’ profitability.
https://dailycaller.com/2024/04/28/analysts-predicted-offshore-wind-rebound-2023-2024/
