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Offshore wind holds great promise as a source of clean, domestic, renewable energy that can meet the needs of communities along the nation’s coastlines. And — according to the Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — the U.S. offshore wind industry made gale-force gains in 2020 and early 2021. The offshore wind pipeline grew 24% in that time period, with 35,324 megawatts (MW) now in various stages of development.

And that is not all. Increased industry interest, combined with the Biden administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2030, may propel the offshore wind energy industry to greater heights in the coming years.

Released on Aug. 30, 2021, the report highlighted that:

  • The U.S. offshore wind pipeline includes two operating projects: the 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island and the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project. The 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project near Massachusetts became the first fully approved, commercial, offshore wind energy project in the United States, receiving all permits, an offtake contract to sell the power it generates, and an interconnection agreement to deliver that electricity to the grid.
  • Fifteen projects in the offshore wind energy pipeline have reached the permitting phase, 16 commercial leases in federal waters have gained exclusive site control, and seven wind energy areas can now be leased at the discretion of the federal government. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which regulates energy development in federal waters, has also designated nine Call Areas — areas being considered for future offshore wind energy development.
  • The Biden administration’s target of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 is the United States’ first national offshore wind energy goal. Alongside this national-level goal, states are aiming to procure at least 39,298 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2040. The U.S. offshore wind energy industry made additional supply chain and infrastructure investments over the past year, like the first U.S.-flagged offshore wind turbine installation vessel, which began construction in Brownsville, Texas, in 2020.
  • Technology trends indicate growing turbine sizes, which is one of the main drivers behind lower offshore wind energy costs. Three leading turbine manufacturers — Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, and General Electric — have announced the development of larger offshore wind turbines ranging from 12 to 15 MW. These manufacturers have reported their intention to make wind turbines at these nameplate ratings available for purchase by 2024 or sooner, and U.S. orders indicate that most projects in the current pipeline will obtain wind turbines from one of these manufacturers.
  • Governments, energy companies, and end users are increasingly looking at offshore wind as a power source to produce green hydrogen, which can be used in other sectors of the economy — like transportation, heating, industry, grid storage — as a zero-emission fuel.

“This report shows that the offshore wind market is on an upward curve, both nationally and globally,” said Walt Musial, an NREL principal engineer and the lead report author. “Maturing technology and falling costs have driven that curve for several years, and today, we’re seeing a continuation of those trends. Here, in the United States, federal and state support are also adding momentum.”

NREL and DOE began working in offshore wind energy research in 2003 to address the growing interest in offshore wind power technology and innovation, both domestically and in Europe. Since then, NREL’s work in offshore wind energy has included:

  • Developing concepts to accelerate technological advancement
  • Working with DOE and BOEM (and previously the Minerals Management Service) to evaluate possible sites and technologies that can be deployed in the United States
  • Working with industry members to create partnerships and relationships that could lead to commercial systems and projects
  • Creating open-source engineering tools and standards for offshore wind turbine designs
  • Developing economic models and analyses that demonstrate potential for cost reduction and lower uncertainty of offshore wind costs
  • Conducting resource assessments that have validated offshore wind power as a potentially major contributor to the electric grid
  • Providing analyses that inform understanding of future offshore wind technologies
  • Designing technical training for BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement staff
  • Modeling national and regional grid systems to help electric utilities understand the impacts of offshore wind energy when integrated with the electrical grid.

“Looking to the future, we expect offshore wind energy in the United States to expand beyond the North and Mid-Atlantic into the Pacific, Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico,” Musial said. “That expansion means abundant energy at lower costs, job growth, and progress toward decarbonization. NREL will continue to leverage its expertise, world-class facilities, and industry, research, and commercial partnerships to help the United States lead the charge forward.”

The Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition provides detailed information about the U.S. and global offshore wind energy industries to inform policymakers, researchers, and analysts about technology and market trends. The report covers the status of more than 200 globally operating offshore wind projects through Dec. 31, 2020, and provides details and analysis on a broader global pipeline of projects in various stages of development. To deliver the most up-to-date discussion about this evolving industry, the report also provides a deeper assessment of domestic offshore wind energy developments and events through May 31, 2021.

The report is a companion to the Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Distributed Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, prepared by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These three reports offer unbiased, independent, public reporting of the current state of the wind energy industry and provide insight into multiyear trends.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Full Report

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Executive Summary

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition: Summary Slides

Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition Data

Article courtesy of NREL.

 

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Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

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Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

On today’s episode of Quick Charge, Tesla’s Cybertruck is now available in Canada – and, like in the US, there’s no waiting! Plus, we’ve got an “actually” smart summon Tesla that’s actually stuck, GM reaches a sales milestone, and we get a brand-new title sponsor!

Today’s episode is the first with our new title sponsor, BLUETTI – a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonusLucid proves than an EV company can keep its promises while Xiaomi teams up with Chevrolet and Honda to prove – at least conceptually – that records are made to be broken. audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Read more: Renewables now make up 30% of US utility-scale generating capacity

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This ‘supercharger on wheels’ brings fast charging to you [update]

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This 'supercharger on wheels' brings fast charging to you [update]

Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”

November 4, 2024 update: Yoshi Mobility will only be charging EVs on the side of the road now – it announced today that it’s selling its fleet fueling operation to EZFill Holdings (Nasdaq: EZFL).

It was originally founded as a direct-to-consumer, mobile fueling business in 2016, but now it’s going to focus on mobile EV charging, virtual vehicle inspections for partners like Uber and Turo, and onsite preventative maintenance.

Bryan Frist, Yoshi Mobility’s CEO & cofounder, said, “By spinning off our fuel business and focusing all of our energy on solving hair-on-fire problems that fleet owners face, we are meeting the changing needs of enterprise customers while making the future of transportation safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.”


May 22, 2024: Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.

“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.

The company says its 240 kW mobile DC fast charger, which can turn “any EV” into a mobile charging unit, is the first fully electric mobile charger available. It can provide multiple charges in a single trip but doesn’t detail how they charge the DC fast charger or who manufactured it. (I asked for more details, and they replied that they won’t disclose client names or the manufacturer of its DC fast charger yet.)

Yoshi is launching its mobile charger on two GM BrightDrop Zevo 600s and will introduce additional vehicles throughout 2024. It aims for full commercialization by Q1 2025. (I wonder if the Zevo 600 ever charges itself? Yes, I asked that too.)

Yoshi Mobility says it’s already deployed its EV charging solutions to service “major OEMs, autonomous vehicle companies, and rideshare operators” across the US. Its initial customers are made up of large EV operators managing “hundreds” of light-duty vehicles requiring up to 1 megawatt of energy per day that don’t yet have grid-connected EV chargers. I’ve asked Yoshi for details of who it’s working with, and will update if they share that info.

The company says pricing is based on location and enterprise charging needs. Once under contract for service, the service will be deployed to US-based customers within 10 days.

To date, Yoshi Mobility has raised more than $60 million, with investments from GM Ventures, Bridgestone, ExxonMobil, and Y-Combinator in Silicon Valley.

Read more: Mercedes-Benz just opened more DC fast chargers at Buc-ee’s in Texas


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Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

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Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

Marqeta celebrates its initial public offering at the Nasdaq on June 9, 2021.

Source: The Nasdaq

Marqeta shares tumbled more than 30% in extended trading on Monday after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter.

Here’s how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Loss per share: 6 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 5 cents expected
  • Revenue: $128 million vs. $128.1 million expected

While third-quarter results showed a slight disappointment on the top and bottom lines, Marqeta’s forecast for the current period was more concerning.

The payment processing firm said revenue in the fourth quarter will increase 10% to 12% from a year earlier. Analysts were looking for growth of more than 17%, according to LSEG.

Marqeta, which primarily functions as a card-issuing platform, attributed the guidance miss to “heightened scrutiny of the banking environment and specific customer program changes.” The company has been struggling for a while, and its stock is now down more than 80% from its peak in 2021, the year it went public. The stock was down 15% for the year prior to the report.

Total processing volume of $74 billion was up more than 30% from a year earlier. Net revenue and gross profit were up 18% and 24%, respectively.

Marqeta’s digital commerce business sells payment technology designed to detect potential fraud and ensure that money is properly routed. It also issues customized physical cards that look like a credit or debit card that can be used for point-of-sale purchases.

The company has been trying to break into the buy now, pay later business with a recently launched product called Marqeta Flex. The service brings BNPL from lenders such as Affirm or Klarna to any credit card wherever Mastercard and Visa are accepted.

“It’s an orchestration layer, but it’s tied to issuing and processing and disputes and chargebacks,” CEO Simon Khalaf told CNBC at Money2020 in Las Vegas last week. “So it is not actually a Wild West in BNPL. It is actually very well established. And there is a reason why a lot of people are jumping to it.”

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

Marqeta CEO on Q2 earnings, consumer trends and the end of cash

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