{"id":275260,"date":"2023-08-23T20:06:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T18:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=275260"},"modified":"2023-08-23T20:06:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T18:06:53","slug":"bubble-bursts-rising-costs-mean-more-massive-offshore-wind-projects-scrapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=275260","title":{"rendered":"Bubble Bursts: Rising Costs Mean More Massive Offshore Wind Projects\u00a0Scrapped"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

From STOP THESE THINGS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The spiralling cost of erecting ever-larger turbines at sea is matched by the spiralling costs of the raw inputs needed for the turbines themselves, which means the offshore wind power bubble has truly burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sweden\u2019s Vattenfall has just scotched a massive project proposed off the coast of Norfolk, moaning about rocketing turbine manufacturing and offshore construction costs, as it makes the last bid attempt to screw the British taxpayer for even more massive subsidies to keep the wind scam afloat a little longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while Vattenfall might be miffed about the collapse of its Norfolk Boreas project, it\u2019s no doubt crestfallen over its events in its home country, Sweden. The Swedish government has decided to scrap another of Vattenfall\u2019s offshore projects \u2013 Stora Middelgrund. Chances of it ever being resuscitated are next are nil, given\u00a0Sweden\u2019s recent about-face on energy policy<\/a>\u00a0by which it has determined to back ever-reliable nuclear over never-reliable wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a couple of pieces describing what appears to be a very miserable time for offshore wind scammers. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giant windfarm off Norfolk coast halted due to spiralling costs<\/strong>
Newsbreak
Jillian Ambrose
20 July 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s green energy ambitions have been dealt a blow after plans for a giant offshore windfarm off the Norfolk coast ground to a halt due to spiralling supply chain costs and rising interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swedish energy giant Vattenfall said it would stop work on the multibillion-pound Norfolk Boreas windfarm, designed to power the equivalent of 1.5m British homes, because it was no longer profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state-owned company said costs had climbed by 40% due to a rise in global gas prices which have fed through to the cost of manufacturing, putting \u201csignificant pressure on all new offshore wind projects\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIt simply doesn\u2019t make sense to continue this project,\u201d said Anna Borg, Vattenfall\u2019s chief executive. \u201cHigher inflation and capital costs are affecting the entire energy sector, but the geopolitical situation has made offshore wind and its supply chain particularly vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Vattenfall won a government contract to build the Norfolk Boreas project last year\u00a0after bidding a record low price of \u00a337.35 per megawatt hour (MWh)\u00a0<\/a>for the electricity generated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borg said it was \u201cso obvious to everyone that the situation has changed dramatically since last year\u201d, meaning the price would now need to be \u201csignificantly higher\u201d to make financial sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to its latest results, the decision to stop work has cost the company 5.5bn Swedish krona (\u00a3415m) but Borg said the move was \u201cprudent\u201d given the impact of costs on the project\u2019s future profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe market framework is simply not reflecting the market situation,\u201d Borg said. \u201cSomething needs to happen. It\u2019s important to understand that our suppliers are being squeezed. They have problems in their supply chain so it\u2019s not so easy to mitigate these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Borg said Vattenfall has called on the UK government to adapt the financial framework which controls the price and was in \u201cconstructive discussions\u201d with officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry experts have said that without an overhaul of the government\u2019s financing approach to take into account the steep climb in costs, the UK risks missing its target to increase its offshore wind capacity fivefold to 50GW by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess Ralston, the head of energy at the thinktank the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said the government had set the starting price for the next contract auction before the global rise in market prices, meaning it was now too low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are some concerns that this could be too low for projects that have suffered supply chain price inflation, excluding them from entering the auction,\u201d she said. \u201cThe sensible strategy would be to seek to involve in auctions as much capacity as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Under the government\u2019s scheme developers can compete in the auction for a contract which gives a guaranteed price for the electricity generated. If wholesale market prices are below this level the project receives a \u201ctop up\u201d payment through a levy on energy bills. But if market prices are above the \u201cstrike price\u201d the project\u00a0must pay back the difference to consumers\u00a0<\/a>, leading to lower bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting the auction\u2019s starting price at a higher point would still result in contract prices well below the current market rate, according to Ralston, meaning windfarms will continue to pay money back to households for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan McGrail, the chief executive of RenewableUK, said ministers would have to take into account global inflationary pressures \u201cwhich have significantly changed the economic landscape\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a stronger industrial strategy for the sector, which the chancellor should support with new measures in the autumn statement as a matter of urgency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe government needs to step up with a robust response to\u00a0enable industrial growth throughout Britain\u00a0<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Newsbreak<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sweden rejects Vattenfall\u2019s planned Stora Middelgrund wind farm<\/strong>
Reuters
Louise Breusch Rasmussen
27 July 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swedish government has rejected utility Vattenfall\u2019s application to construct a wind farm at Stora Middelgrund on Sweden\u2019s west coast, the ministry for climate and enterprise said in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vattenfall had said it planned to build around 50 wind turbines at Stora Middelgrund, each measuring some 290 metres (950 feet) in height, with the aim of producing between 2.5 and 3.0 terrawatt hours (TWh) of power per year [only on those occasions when the wind was blowing with sufficient speed, of course].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Vattenfall said in an email that the company regretted the government\u2019s announcement, adding \u201cwe will now analyze the decision more closely to see what consequences it brings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn establishment at Stora Middelgrund would risk damaging sensitive natural values in an unacceptable way,\u201d Minister for climate and environment Romina Pourmokhtari said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe risk of negative impact on national interests in shipping has also weighed heavily in the Government\u2019s assessment,\u201d she said.
Reuters<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The spiralling cost of erecting ever-larger turbines at sea is matched by the spiralling costs of the raw inputs needed for the turbines themselves, which means the offshore wind power bubble has truly burst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":275272,"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":[691818118,691819565,691822029,691822028],"class_list":{"0":"post-275260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-green-energy","9":"tag-offshore-wind-projects","10":"tag-renewableuk","11":"tag-vattenfall-2","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-914.png?fit=1383%2C918&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-19BG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":268945,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268945","url_meta":{"origin":275260,"position":0},"title":"Big Blow to UK\u2019s Green Dreams as Costs Skyrocket","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/23\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The race to net zero is leading us into a financial quicksand, sucking in vast resources for a future that will never materialize as envisaged.","rel":"","context":"In \"Green Dreams\"","block_context":{"text":"Green Dreams","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=green-dreams"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":277820,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=277820","url_meta":{"origin":275260,"position":1},"title":"What, No Offshore\u00a0Wind?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"No new offshore wind farms are expected to have been bid for in a government auction this week, in a significant blow to the government\u2019s clean energy ambitions.","rel":"","context":"In \"offshore wind farms\"","block_context":{"text":"offshore wind farms","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=offshore-wind-farms"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0skynews-offshore-wind-turbine_6277996.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0skynews-offshore-wind-turbine_6277996.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0skynews-offshore-wind-turbine_6277996.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0skynews-offshore-wind-turbine_6277996.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0skynews-offshore-wind-turbine_6277996.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":271793,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=271793","url_meta":{"origin":275260,"position":2},"title":"Cash Inferno: Offshore Wind Power Fastest Way to Squander Countless\u00a0$Billions","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Can\u2019t you just use wind energy to run the factories that produce wind turbines? Just kidding.","rel":"","context":"In \"Net zero\"","block_context":{"text":"Net zero","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=net-zero"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0sea-4060902_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0sea-4060902_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0sea-4060902_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0sea-4060902_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0sea-4060902_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":252265,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=252265","url_meta":{"origin":275260,"position":3},"title":"Exploding the Cheap Offshore Wind Fantasy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The energy industry lobbyists are out with their begging bowls demanding more subsidies to deliver more \u201cinvestment\u201d in renewables in general and offshore wind in particular.","rel":"","context":"In \"cobalt\"","block_context":{"text":"cobalt","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=cobalt"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Exxon-mobile.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Exxon-mobile.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Exxon-mobile.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Exxon-mobile.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Exxon-mobile.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":287785,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287785","url_meta":{"origin":275260,"position":4},"title":"Germany To Bail Out Siemens\u2019 Struggling Wind Turbine Division","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/13\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Siemens Energy, facing significant losses, is in talks for up to 15 billion euros in guarantees, with the German state covering 80% of the initial funding. 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