{"id":274654,"date":"2023-08-20T19:47:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T17:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274654"},"modified":"2023-08-20T19:47:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T17:47:22","slug":"offshore-wind-is-neither-clean-nor-green-and-doesnt-cut-co2-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274654","title":{"rendered":"Offshore wind is neither clean, nor Green and doesn\u2019t cut CO2 emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\u00a0CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Craig Rucker<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

America is preparing to spend trillions of taxpayer and ratepayer dollars to install thousands of offshore wind turbines \u2013 for illusory benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates claim offshore wind energy is clean and sustainable. Wind itself certainly is, but that doesn\u2019t mean getting energy from wind is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A single 12 MW (megawatts) offshore wind turbine is taller than the Washington Monument, weighs around 4,000 tons, and requires mining and processing millions of tons of iron, copper, aluminum, rare earths, and other ores, with much of the work done in Africa and China using fossil fuels and near-slave labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relying on wind just to provide electricity to power New York state on a hot summer day would require 30,000 megawatts. That means 2,500 Haliade-X 12 MW offshore turbines and all the materials that go into them. Powering the entire U.S. would require a-100 times more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These numbers are huge, but the situation is actually much worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because offshore turbines generate less than 40% of their \u201crated capacity.\u201d Why? Because often there\u2019s no wind at all for hours or days at a time. This requires a lot of extra capacity, which means many more windmills will have to be erected to charge millions of huge batteries, to ensure stable, reliable electricity supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once constructed, those turbines would hardly be earth-or human-friendly, either. They would severely impact aviation, shipping, fishing, submarines, and whales. They\u2019re hardly benign power sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut,\u201d say wind proponents, \u201cwind energy is our salvation, because it will cut down on CO2 emissions and protect us from the greatest threat to Mother Earth \u2013 global warming!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds reasonable \u2026 at least to those who suffer from climate anxiety. But not so fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new study by energy analyst David Wojick devastates this repeatedly invoked justification for offshore wind. His\u00a0report<\/a>, \u201cHow Offshore Wind Drives Up Global Carbon Emissions,\u201d explains why adding offshore wind to our energy mix \u201cwill likely\u00a0increase<\/em>\u00a0global CO2 emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, notes Wojick, any local CO2 reduction from offshore wind turbines will be small, because intermittent winds force gas-fired backup power plants we rely on now into up-and-down generation mode, hour after hour, day after day, and remain in standby mode otherwise. That highly inefficient arrangement burns excess fuel and emits excess CO2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, building huge offshore wind facilities requires mining, processing, smelting, fabrication, installation, repair, replacement, decommissioning, landfilling \u2013 and transportation every step of the way. Almost everything up to installation is increasingly done overseas, nearly 100% with fossil fuels and few emission controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because the U.S. sets much higher standards than in Africa, Asia, and Latin America for mining permits, coal and gas use, environmental protection, workplace safety, wages, and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Wojick reviews New Jersey\u2019s plan for 11,000 MW of offshore wind power. That\u2019s if the electricity turbines could generate if the wind blows 24\/7, instead of the more likely one-third of the time annually. But that \u201cnameplate capacity\u201d would require 917 Haliade-X or 1,834 6 MW turbines, assuming coastal residents don\u2019t veto them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose the 6 MW behemoths utilize monopile towers some 30 feet in diameter and 300 feet long, fixed to the seafloor and used to support the rotor and three 300-foot blades. Each tower would weigh around 2,500 tons before being filled with almost 15,000 tons of concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making steel and cement for such monstrosities, Wojick notes, would require enormous amounts of energy, resulting in extensive CO2 emissions. Just producing those materials would cause about 14,000 tons of CO2 per monopile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means every 1,000 monopiles would result in 14,000,000 tons of CO2 just for the steel and concrete \u2013 not including the other wind turbine and electricity transmission components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of that includes materials for the gas-fired generators or millions of battery modules that would be needed to stabilize New Jersey\u2019s electrical grid and back up turbines every time the wind dies down or gets so strong during storms that turbines must be idled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, a no-fossil fuels economy would require electricity generation, electric vehicles, home heating, water heating, and cooking \u2013 all dependent on wind (and solar) power \u2013 and batteries that must be charged constantly by those same sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means today\u2019s electricity requirements \u2013 and raw materials demands \u2013 would have to be doubled or tripled to run a Net Zero society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those clamoring about a \u201cclimate crisis\u201d maintain it\u2019s a global problem. Therefore, any proposed solution should thoroughly and carefully examine raw material requirements, mining needs, costs, and global benefits, all through landfilling turbine blades and other non-recyclable components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Wojick\u2019s study exposes the frightening fact that an honest, complete analysis of offshore wind costs and benefits, including purported atmospheric CO2 reductions, has never even been attempted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at\u00a0Real Clear Energy<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Craig Rucker<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Rucker is a co-founder of CFACT and currently serves as its president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America is preparing to spend trillions of taxpayer and ratepayer dollars to install thousands of offshore wind turbines \u2013 for illusory benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":274662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691818076,691818087,691818154,691819212],"class_list":{"0":"post-274654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-co2","10":"tag-global-warming","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-offshore-wind-turbines","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0overview_gemini_offshore_wind_park_-_website.jpg?fit=1360%2C680&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-19rU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":189906,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=189906","url_meta":{"origin":274654,"position":0},"title":"Woke Wonderland: Joe Biden\u2019s Offshore Wind Power Plans Staggeringly Expensive Fantasy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/03\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the Humpty Dumpty land occupied by wind and solar advocates, the power produced by wind and sun is free and getting cheaper all the time. Solar panels and wind turbines are powering homes and businesses around-the-clock, whatever the weather. 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Two of Europe\u2019s biggest energy companies are abandoning the SS Offshore Wind.","rel":"","context":"In \"BP\"","block_context":{"text":"BP","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bp"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0tumblr_o0vqxdkI251v0wymto1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0tumblr_o0vqxdkI251v0wymto1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0tumblr_o0vqxdkI251v0wymto1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0tumblr_o0vqxdkI251v0wymto1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0tumblr_o0vqxdkI251v0wymto1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":376205,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=376205","url_meta":{"origin":274654,"position":5},"title":"Secretary Burgum: If offshore wind is wrong for New York, it is also wrong for Virginia!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Citing President Trump\u2019s\u00a0executive order\u00a0restricting offshore wind and a defective permitting process implemented by the Biden administration, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum\u00a0issued an order\u00a0on April 16 for the developers of the Empire offshore wind project to immediately stop construction.","rel":"","context":"In \"Coastal\u00a0Virginia\u00a0Offshore Wind (CVOW)\"","block_context":{"text":"Coastal\u00a0Virginia\u00a0Offshore Wind (CVOW)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=coastal-virginia-offshore-wind-cvow-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Offshore-wind-red-silhouette.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Offshore-wind-red-silhouette.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Offshore-wind-red-silhouette.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Offshore-wind-red-silhouette.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Offshore-wind-red-silhouette.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=274654"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274663,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274654\/revisions\/274663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/274662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=274654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=274654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=274654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}