By David Wojick
The government of Maine has big plans for floating wind, the fantasy of net zero floating, in fact. Since floating wind power is the next green thing, it’s worth taking a closer look at this devastating vision.
Windsurfing is a fad, not an established technology. It has not been built on a utility scale or tested in hurricanes. The world’s largest grid system is 50 MW and is only online from Scotland.
The cost of floating wind is necessarily greater than that of fixed wind. A fixed wind tower rests on a simple monopile, while a floating tower rests on a huge complex structure called a floater. We’re talking big 500-foot towers with 500-ton turbines on top and 300-foot blades that catch the wind.
The floater must be big enough to keep this monster tower from blowing over. Then, it needs to be bigger to contain enough air to float. It also needs to be connected to the seabed in a way that requires many different mooring lines.
Existing small floating generator systems cost about three times the cost of fixed wind per MW, but large, wind-resistant generators can cost more. Over a hundred designs have been proposed, which show just how unknown Floating wind technology.
Which brings us to Maine’s floating green dream, an expensive nightmare for the public. When it comes to electricity use, Maine is a small state with an average of 1,500 MW. But in his madness, he passed legislation saying he would buy 3,000 MW of floating wind. Wind remains not an option as the Gulf of Maine is very deep.
How do they justify buying wind floating so much? Simple, it’s a net zero fantasy. They have a 115-page “Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap” that explains it.
For starters, they turn off all the combustion generators they have, usually burning gas or wood. Maine is 90% forest, so lots of wood. Then, they electrified all other forms of combustion. For example, 60% of homes are heated with fuel oil, so they switch to heat pumps or ones that work in cold weather. Of course, all cars and trucks are electric.
The estimated cost of 3,000 MW of floating wind is huge. Using the reported three times the fixed wind figure, I get roughly $50 billion for construction and an equal amount for financing and profit, giving a total cost of around $100 billion. It may be even more if large-scale, hurricane-resistant technologies are developed if they exist.
Apparently, the astronomical cost was no object because it was never mentioned. It’s not in the law, roadmap, or various technical support documents. Labor is often mentioned, but it is part of the cost. But then, too, there is the greater cost of the energy transition, without floating wind it just doesn’t work.
Clearly, the development of floating wind may not happen, which brings us back to the present day, where things are going crazy. The State of Maine has begun the process of building a huge new port specifically to handle this floating wind fantasy. I didn’t make this up.
With steady winds, the shore facility is simply a marshaling place where the pieces are held until they are launched to an offshore site for assembly. There are only four big pieces: the monopile, the tower, the turbine, and the blade set.
Wind floats are very different because large floaters are built in harbors. The tower, turbine, and blade set are also attached to the floater there. Then, the entire assembly is towed to the site and anchored to the seabed using eight or more mooring lines.
So this is really a very special shipyard, a floater factory, not a port. There must be one or more dry docks for building large floaters, plus special equipment, especially cranes. It is reported that steel floaters for 15 MW turbines can usually weigh 3500 to 4500 tons, while concrete floaters are in the range of 17,000 to 22,000 tons.
The final configuration is not known until the floater design is complete. Note that this shipyard will only be used for a few years to build a 3,000 MW floating wind generator.
Currently the estimated cost of this shipyard/port is less than a billion dollars but it may be easier depending on the complexity of the design. The cost of a unique new system tends to increase as engineering is completed.
Starting this billion dollar port project now is just stupid. It is likely that the necessary energy transition will never occur. Electricity will be very expensive, perhaps four to five times the current price. Also, we don’t know how well the technology will work, assuming it works in Maine’s rainwater.
The people of Maine cannot accept this dire situation, nor do they. This whole nut job needs to be reconsidered.
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