All posts tagged: offshore

UK scraps offshore wind tariffs, saving manufacturers millions

UK scraps offshore wind tariffs, saving manufacturers millions

Published by skeptic

British manufacturers will save millions of pounds a year when the UK Government removes tariffs on offshore wind energy components from 1 April. Offshore wind tariffs will be removed on 33 industrial goods through a new measure to support progress towards the UK’s clean energy superpower mission. The measure will also enable British manufacturers to produce components at a lower cost and allow reinvestment in the clean energy sector. Offshore wind: The backbone of the UK’s clean energy sector This investment in the UK’s largest source of renewable energy is vital for addressing the climate crisis and building the UK’s energy security. Offshore wind is 40% cheaper to produce and maintain than new gas projects, according to the LCOE industry metric. This follows a record 8.4GW and £22bn of offshore wind investment secured in the January 2026 Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 – enough clean energy to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes. This includes Berwick Bank in the North Sea – the first new Scottish project since 2022 and one of …

Oil Companies Shun Trump Administration’s Alaska Offshore Auction

Oil Companies Shun Trump Administration’s Alaska Offshore Auction

Published by Sam Flores

March 4 (Reuters) – Oil and gas drillers ⁠failed ⁠to show up at ⁠the Trump administration’s sale of more than 1 million ​acres (404,686 hectares) in Alaska’s Cook Inlet on Wednesday, declining to submit ‌even a single bid. The sale ‌was the first of six Alaska offshore oil and gas ⁠auctions mandated ⁠through 2032 by U.S. President Donald Trump’s One Big ​Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law last year. Trump has sought to expand domestic oil and gas resources, including in Alaska where production ​has been in decline for decades. Drilling in the Arctic and ⁠Alaska is ⁠a high-risk endeavor, ⁠involving decades ​of work and billions of dollars of investment. Officials from the U.S. Bureau ​of Ocean Energy ⁠Management had planned to read bids via a livestream on the agency’s website beginning at 10 a.m. Alaska time (1900 GMT). Bids were due a day earlier, on March 3. Instead, BOEM’s sale website was ⁠updated to reflect the lack of bids. “At this time, no bids ⁠have been received,” BOEM wrote. “In accordance with …

Who needs data centers in space when they can float offshore?

Who needs data centers in space when they can float offshore?

Published by skeptic

The power crunch for AI data centers has gotten so severe that people — not just Elon Musk — are talking about launching servers into space so they can access solar power 24/7. One startup thinks the ocean is a better place for them. Offshore wind developer Aikido is planning to submerge a 100-kilowatt demonstration data center off the coast of Norway this year. The small unit will live in the submerged pods of a floating offshore wind turbine. If all goes well, the company hopes to build a larger version to deploy off the coast of the UK in 2028. That model will sport a 15 megawatt to 18 megawatt turbine that will feed a 10 megawatt to 12 megawatt data center. The move offshore could solve a few challenges. Proximity to power is an obvious one, since the source will sit overhead. Winds offshore are more consistent than onshore, and a modest battery could bridge any lulls.  Submerged data centers could eliminate concerns from NIMBY groups — “not in my backyard” — who oppose data …

Japan’s JERA says domestic offshore wind project on schedule despite rising costs

Japan’s JERA says domestic offshore wind project on schedule despite rising costs

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO, Feb 18 : Japan’s top power generator JERA has begun construction of its offshore wind project in Akita, northern Japan, and is on schedule for a 2028 start-up, President Hisahide Okuda said on Wednesday. The move comes despite soaring material and construction costs, and last year’s withdrawal by a Mitsubishi Corp-led group from three offshore wind projects awarded in 2021. JERA won a government auction in 2023 to develop the 315-megawatt Oga-Katagami-Akita offshore wind farm with Electric Power Development, Itochu and Tohoku Electric Power. In 2024, a consortium of JERA, Green Power Investment and Tohoku Electric also secured a 615-MW project off Aomori prefecture in northern Japan. “Costs have truly risen, creating a challenging environment, but rather than giving up, we aim to demonstrate that offshore wind power is feasible in Japan and that it can be a viable business – by successfully completing projects in both Akita and Aomori,” Okuda told a news conference. The first JERA-led consortium has signed a contract to procure turbines from Vestas for the Akita project, with Kajima …

European offshore wind power for a competitive EU steel industry

European offshore wind power for a competitive EU steel industry

Published by skeptic

Heike Winkler, Managing Director of Offshore Wind Kommunikation, EUSEW digital ambassador, discusses how offshore wind and green steel rely on each other for the sustainable transition. The North Sea Summit of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) took place in Germany at the end of January this year. Europe’s offshore wind potential is at the heart of its efforts to achieve climate neutrality, affordability and energy independence amid turbulent geopolitical conditions. This is a significant development for an energy-intensive industry such as the European steel industry, both in terms of affordable green molecules and electrons, and for the EU wind industry market. Offshore wind energy needs green steel, and the steel industry needs energy costs that are as low and reliable as possible. Building the North Sea’s power hub for a resilient and competitive Europe and the Baltic Sea wind potential As part of the North Sea Energy Cooperation, the NSEC energy ministers, the European Commission and stakeholders met last year to set the agenda for the next 15 years of cooperation. Building on the …

Trump’s offshore wind pause just lost again – Vineyard Wind is back to work [update]

Trump’s offshore wind pause just lost again – Vineyard Wind is back to work [update]

Published by skeptic

Photo: Ørsted A federal judge cleared Vineyard Wind to restart construction, adding to a growing list of offshore wind projects beating Trump’s stop-work orders. January 27, 2026: A federal judge in Boston just handed the offshore wind industry another big win: the 806-megawatt Vineyard Wind, which is 95% complete and already sending power to the grid, can resume construction after US District Judge Brian Murphy granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s stop-work order that froze the project in late December. Murphy found that Vineyard Wind showed a strong likelihood of success on the merits and would face irreparable harm if construction remained paused while the case proceeds. The decision marks the fourth federal court setback for the administration’s offshore wind pause. Judges have now cleared Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, and the massive Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to resume construction, despite the Interior Department’s national security justification for halting work. Judge Murphy said the Interior Department failed to “adequately explain or justify the decision to halt construction.” Advertisement – scroll for …

No, Mr. Trump, offshore wind is for ‘winners,’ says UK’s Miliband – POLITICO

No, Mr. Trump, offshore wind is for ‘winners,’ says UK’s Miliband – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“I think offshore wind is for winners.” At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Trump reiterated his deep-seated loathing for wind energy, saying: “There are windmills all over Europe. … They are losers.” Trump also claimed, falsely, that China, despite making most of the world’s wind turbines, don’t use them and only “sell them to the stupid people that buy them.” China has by far the world’s largest wind power generation capacity. Energy ministers from the U.K., Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed a deal Monday at the third North Sea Summit to deliver 100 gigawatts of joint offshore wind projects. Miliband said that there was still “common ground” to be found with the Trump administration on energy, including around the development of new nuclear technology. But he added: “Different countries will pursue their own national interests. But we are very clear about where our national interest lies.” Frederike Holewik contributed reporting from Hamburg. Source link

Trump administration says offshore wind poses a threat. It won’t say how. : NPR

Trump administration says offshore wind poses a threat. It won’t say how. : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Wind turbines are seen off the coast of Rhode Island. The Trump administration has tried to stop construction of five offshore wind projects that are being built along the East Coast. Michael Dwyer/AP/AP hide caption toggle caption Michael Dwyer/AP/AP Late last month, the Trump administration halted construction on billions of dollars worth of offshore wind projects after the Defense Department allegedly raised new national security concerns about the facilities. But no one outside the federal government seems to know what sort of threats the administration has found. So far, the government has been unwilling to release that information even to the companies building the projects. The Interior Department sent stop-work orders on December 22 to the developers of five wind projects off the East Coast. The orders were based on classified reports recently completed by the Defense Department. The Interior Department said pausing construction would give federal agencies time to work with project developers to try to mitigate potential risks. Companies building infrastructure projects routinely work with the federal government to deal with issues that …

Struggling crab company blames offshore wind farms for ‘dramatic downturn’ in supply | UK | News

Struggling crab company blames offshore wind farms for ‘dramatic downturn’ in supply | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

A struggling crab company has blamed offshore wind farms for a “dramatic downturn” in supply. Jonas Seafood, which produces dressed Cromer crab, said its seasonal catch fell by nearly a quarter in 2025. The company, based in the Norfolk coastal town, is warning its year-round operation has now been put at risk, according to reports. Managing director Kevin Jonas has called for the company to receive compensation for the alleged impact of offshore wind farms. He said Jonas Seafood experienced a “drop off” in crab supply 17 years ago when the area’s first major offshore wind farm was built. Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk, Mr Jonas said this was seen again during the construction of other nearby wind farms years later. He told the broadcaster: “When the operation is finished we plotted an upturn in supply once more. “In this past year, there have been cables coming in from, I think, Hornsea Three, and we’ve seen a drop off again, so it’s pretty difficult to argue against.” He said he also believes prime spots for …

Who needs data centers in space when they can float offshore?

Trump administration’s legal setbacks are good news for offshore wind — and the grid

Published by skeptic

The Trump administration suffered a series of legal setbacks this week after judges allowed work to restart on several offshore wind farms under construction on the East Coast. The Department of the Interior had ordered a stop to five projects totaling 6 gigawatts of generating capacity in December, citing national security concerns. The judicial orders will allow three projects to resume construction: Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Empire Wind off New York, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off — you guessed it — Virginia. The developers each filed lawsuits shortly after the Trump administration issued the stop work order, which had been effective for 90 days. When announcing the halt just days before Christmas, the government cited concerns the wind farms would interfere with radar operations. It’s a valid concern, and one the government and project developers grappled with throughout the siting and permitting process. Wind farms can be located to minimize disruption to existing radar facilities, and the radar equipment itself can be upgraded to filter out noise generated by whirling turbine blades. President Trump himself …