BP Exits US Wind, Masdar and Iberdrola Deal

Alan Hall discusses Jupiter Bach's halted expansion, New York's
offshore wind project delays, BP's exit from the US wind market,
Maryland's permit defense, and a major clean energy deal in the UK
and Germany. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email
update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored
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YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! A major wind turbine supplier in Pensacola,
Florida is scaling back expansion plans. Jupiter Bach, a
Denmark-based company, is pausing hiring after passage of President
Trump's energy bill. The company makes nacelle covers and other
components for wind turbines. Plant manager Sean Guidry says the
company had planned to grow its local workforce from two hundred
forty to more than three hundred twenty employees next year. Now he
says they see a more flat year. The policy shift comes after
President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law earlier
this month. The legislation significantly shortens the eligibility
window for wind and solar tax credits. Projects must now break
ground by twenty twenty-six and enter service by twenty
twenty-seven to receive full tax benefits. Previously, those
credits were locked in through twenty thirty-two. Guidry says his
company had planned an additional one point two million dollars of
investments in their Pensacola plant this year. Now those
investments are in question. The company supplies components
directly to GE Vernova, whose nearby plant assembles complete
nacelles for wind energy projects across the country. Guidry urges
policymakers to view wind energy as key to U.S. manufacturing and
energy independence. He warns that without reliable federal
support, the United States could lose ground to China in
fast-growing industries that depend on abundant, low-cost
electricity. New York State has put the brakes on a major offshore
wind project. The New York State Public Service Commission
terminated its offshore wind transmission planning process. The
commission cited stalled federal permitting as the reason. This
halts plans to deliver up to eight gigawatts of offshore wind power
into New York City by twenty thirty-three. Commission Chair Rory M.
Christian says the uncertainty coming out of Washington forced the
state to act. He says quote, "This is not the end. We'll move
forward once the federal government resumes permitting." The
commission cited recent federal actions halting new offshore wind
leasing and permitting. Officials say those actions make short-term
project execution unfeasible. Existing projects like South Fork
Wind, Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind are unaffected and continue to
move forward. The commission says it will apply lessons from this
process to future planning. It's focusing on affordability,
reliability and risk reduction. British oil giant BP is getting out
of the wind business in America. The company announced Friday it's
selling its entire U.S. onshore wind operation to LS Power. The
sale includes wind farms spread across seven states with a combined
capacity of one point seven gigawatts. BP did not disclose the sale
price. But previous estimates valued the wind business at as much
as two billion dollars. The sale is part of BP's twenty billion
dollar divestment program announced in February. The company is
streamlining its business and pivoting back toward fossil fuels to
boost returns to shareholders. William Lin, BP's executive
vice-president for gas and low-carbon energy, says green energy
still has a role to play in the company's portfolio. But he says BP
is no longer the best owner to take the wind business forward. The
move comes as BP seeks to refocus on its core oil and gas
operations. The company's share price has fallen more than ten
percent over the past twelve months. After the transaction closes,
BP Wind Energy will become part of LS Power's subsidiary Clearlight
Energy. That will increase the LS Power's energy group's operating
fleet to about four point three gigawatts. Maryland is fighting
back against federal regulators over an offshore wind permit. The
Maryland Department of the Environment defended the permit it
issued to US Wind for a project off Ocean City. The state rejected
a challenge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Maryland
Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain says the state will
not reissue the permit as the EPA requested. She says the state
made no mistake that needed correcting. The EPA had argued that
Maryland identified the wrong process for citizens to file appeals
of the air pollution permit. EPA administrator Amy Van
Blarcom-Lackey says any appeals should be filed with the EPA's
Environmental Appeals Board. But Maryland argues its permit should
be appealed through state courts in Worcester County. The deadline
for state court challenges has already passed. McIlwain says
long-settled procedure dictates that state-issued permits are
appealed under state law, not federal law. The US Wind project is
planned about ten miles from Ocean City's shoreline. When complete,
it will include one hundred twenty-one wind turbines and could
generate 2.2GW of energy. There's positive news from the offshore
wind industry today. Clean energy companies Masdar and Iberdrola
have announced a five point two billion euro deal in the United
Kingdom. The two companies will split ownership of the East Anglia
THREE offshore wind farm fifty-fifty. When complete, the project
will produce one point four gigawatts of power. That's enough
electricity to power one point three million British homes. The
companies also announced that their Baltic Eagle wind farm in
Germany is now fully operational. That four hundred seventy-six
megawatt project will supply around four hundred seventy-five
thousand households with renewable energy. Masdar Chairman Sultan
Al Jaber says offshore wind will play a crucial role in the global
energy transformation. He says projects like these have never been
more critical due to growing demand from artificial intelligence
and emerging markets. The East Anglia THREE project is expected to
come online in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty-six. It will be
one of the world's two largest offshore wind farms. The deal is
part of a fifteen billion euro strategic partnership between the
two companies. They plan to accelerate clean energy deployment
across the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. That's
the week's top news stories. Join us tomorrow for the Uptime Wind
Energy Podcast.