BOEM Offshore Lease Cancelled, Gulf Offshore Technology Methods

BOEM has cancelled its Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease auction
due to lack of interest. We explore why companies are hesitant to
put turbines in the gulf, examining challenges and opportunities
for wind projects in Texas and Louisiana from both financial and
technical perspectives. Phil and Rosemary discuss downwind turbine
designs for hurricane-prone areas and the complex economics of wind
energy projects in the region. Our Wind Farm of the Week is the
farm built for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South
Korea, showcasing the potential of wind energy on a global stage.
Register for the AMI Wind Turbine Blades Event! Sign up now for
Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind
technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard
Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape
Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show
on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit
Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes'
YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! Pardalote Consulting -
https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech -
www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com Allen
Hall: Have you seen the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile up close, Joel?
Have you been around that thing? Joel Saxum: I have, I've actually
sat in it and I think I know where this story is going. Allen Hall:
I been up close to it and I don't remember where it must have been
an automobile museum and to the peanut mobile Which is another
engineering marvel not seen that I saw them both driving down a
highway one day I thought man either I'm really tired Strange
vehicles on the road today But the wiener mobile flipped over
outside of Chicago, did you see that It looked like a, did it look
like somebody fell asleep and hit one of those concrete barriers
that you can always find in Chicago? Joel Saxum: My thought was, I
was actually joking with a friend about it, is cause I'm from
Wisconsin, so there's this rivalry between Chicago and the people
in Wisconsin. And it was brats versus the all, the all beef hot
dogs in Chicago that they make the Chicago dogs. And they're saying
that they wanted to keep the Wienermobile in Chicago so much that
they, someone actually sabotaged it. I don't know, that's probably
not what happened, of course, but that was the joke. Allen Hall: Is
there a Bratmobile? Joel Saxum: There's not. I will tell you this,
if you'd like to see some great American entertainment, tune into a
Milwaukee Brewers game and watch the Sausage Race. And you will see
hot dogs and brats, polishes. Italian sausage. That's the fourth
one. Are these the four food groups up in Wisconsin? Yes, yes. Yes
they are. Number five is cheese curds and number six is beer. That
rounds it out nicely. So the Wienermobile needs a little TLC based
on the photos I've seen and they're gonna have to put that thing
back together. That's a hallmark of America, right? There's things
to be proud of. That's one of them, man on the moon, Wienermobile.
I'm Allen Hall, and I'll be joined by the rest of the Uptime host
after these news headlines. In our first story, German wind turbine
manufacturer Nordex is reporting a significant turnaround in its
financial performance. For the first half of 2024, the company saw
a dramatically reduced net loss of 12.6 million euros, a
substantial improvement from the 298 million Euro loss reported in
the same period last year. This positive trend is further
underscored by a 24.7% increase in sales reaching 3.43 billion
euros. In light of these encouraging results, Nordics has revived
its 2024 guidance upward now projecting an EBITDA margin between
three and 4%. Amid these industry dynamics, the United Kingdom is
making bold moves to accelerate its wind energy sector.  The
British government has unveiled ambitious plans to support an
additional 20 to 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. Central to
this initiative is the creation of a new government owned energy
company, aptly named Great British Energy. Joel Saxum: This new
entity will spearhead a public private partnership aimed at
attracting up to 60 billion pounds in private investment.
Completing these policy initiatives, the UK is also investing in
critical infrastructure. Construction is underway for what will
become the world's largest monopile factory in Teesworths. The 90
acre wind monopile factory represents a significant boost to the
local economy with plans to create over 2, 000 jobs. This includes
1, 500 positions during the construction phase and 750 operational
roles once the facility is fully functional in 2026. Across the
Irish Sea, Ireland is also recognizing the immense potential of
offshore wind energy. A recent report has projected that if
properly developed, Offshore wind could contribute a staggering 69
billion euros to Ireland's economy by 2050. To fully capitalize on
this opportunity, experts stress the need for strategic investments
in port infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities. In North
America, an intriguing development is unfolding in St. John, New
Brunswick, up in Canada. The virtual wind farm is making headlines
by selling electricity to St. John Energy at less than half the
price charged by the provincial utility. New Brunswick Power. This
remarkable price difference has enabled St. John Energy to achieve
record profits and implement more modest rate increases for its
customers. The success of this project could serve as a model for
other municipalities looking to reduce energy costs and increase
renewable energy adoption. And despite these positive developments,
the wind industry continues to grapple with the challenge of
intermittency. Recent data from the United States highlights this
issue showing that wind generation plummeted by 78 percent in July
during a high demand. In response, power producers significantly
increased their reliance on natural gas generation. And in a
groundbreaking development, energy giants Total Energies and RWE
have joined forces to implement the innovative Oranje wind project
in the Netherlands. The 795 megawatt offshore wind farm located 53
kilometers From the Dutch coast is set to become the country's
first system integration project in the wind sector. What sets
Oranje Wind apart is its comprehensive approach to energy system
integration. The project aims to implement a range of flexible
demand solutions including electrolyzers for green hydrogen
production, smart chargers for electric vehicles, e boilers for
heating, and even battery storage systems. Additionally, Aranjawin
will serve as a testbed for cutting edge offshore technologies,
including floating solar farms and advanced energy storage
solutions like seabed battery systems. Construction 2026, with full
commissioning expected in early 2028. Once operational, Orange Wind
will generate enough green electricity to power over 1 million
Dutch households annually. And that's this week's top news stories.
After the break, I'll be joined by my co host, Renewable Energy
Expert and Founder of Pardalote Consulting, Rosemary Barn. CEO and
Founder of IntelStor Phil Totaro. And the Chief Commercial Officer
of Weather Guard, Joel Saxum. Mark your calendars for AMI's Winter
in Blades Conference happening October 2nd and 3rd in historic
Boston, Massachusetts. This two day event, which is similar to the
well established edition in Europe, will bring together the whole
blade value chain to examine market outlook, innovations in blade
materials, design, manufacturing, testing, and lifecycle
management. With a special focus on the North America market. Gain
insights from experts from Vestas, Nordex, TPI, and DNV. Along with
scientists and engineers from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Plan your trip to
Boston this fall by visiting the link in the show notes or just
Google 2024 Blades Boston. Allen Hall: Down in the Gulf of Mexico,
Boehm has canceled a planned offshore wind lease for about 400, 000
acres of land. of Louisiana and Texas due to, of all things, lack
of commercial interest. Only one company, RWE Offshore showed
interest in the latest lease sale notice. And this contrasts with
other auctions that have happened, particularly along the East
Coast. But despite the cancellation, BOEM received an unsolicited
lease request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC for areas off the
southeastern part of Texas. Okay. I bring this up because Joel and
I were, our producer were just down in New Orleans right where this
activity is planned to take place. And it does seem like if all the
places in the United States you could put some decent wind in
relatively inexpensively. It is Texas and Louisiana because the
infrastructure is there. Joel Saxum: Yeah. We went and visited Gulf
wind technologies this week and their facility is on, is in another
facility, right? It's an active port. The port is for the facility,
the one we were on mile and a half long, it used to have over 26,
000 employees working at it every day. They used to build ships
here. It's a deep water access, deep water port. We drove around in
a truck key side up against the coffer dams. The size and scope of
this thing is crazy, but they're there and they have to this
specific port we were at, or not, I wouldn't call it a port, but
Pacific facility we were at, they have brought in the cells. They
brought in over a hundred blades last year. When say the port of
Houston didn't have the capacity to bring these boats in and they
have all the cranes, they have all the working stuff. Along that
Gulf coast. All of the infrastructure that is needed for offshore
wind is there. The people are there, the vessels are there, the
support is there, and the people, and the local communities want
the jobs. So they're all about it as well, right?