Florida has no wind turbines but it’s going to ban them anyway
Florida legislature is about to ban offshore wind turbines in state waters, which wouldn’t be put there to begin with, to protect the beaches.
Excluding hurricanes, of course, Florida doesn’t have sufficient wind power, either onshore or offshore, that, say, states in the US Northeast or Texas have to sustain a wind power industry. That’s why Florida has no wind farms – either onshore or offshore. The Sunshine State is a US solar power leader.
However, the Florida state legislature wants to ensure that its nonexistent offshore wind power industry stays nonexistent. It’s about to pass HB 1645, which will ban wind turbines in state waters.
First, something that made me giggle – the bill defines a wind turbine as a tower, rotor, and blades “capable of producing more than 10 kilowatts of electrical power.” (So, if you were planning on powering up your 10 microwaves with a wind turbine, Floridians, you can forget it.)
The bill then prohibits wind turbines within 1 mile of the Florida coastline or Intracoastal waterways. It will also ban them within all state waters, extending three nautical miles from shore on the Atlantic Ocean and nine nautical miles on the Gulf of Mexico side. This might make a smidge of sense if someone wanted to develop wind farms there. But they don’t. Because there isn’t sufficient wind.
Maine banned wind farms in its state waters in 2021 to “preserve state waters for recreation and fishing.” But unlike Florida, Maine is windy nearshore. It’s also actively working to develop floating wind farms in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine to harness that clean power. But Maine didn’t ban transmission cables through state waters, which is what Florida’s bill also bans.
So what’s the point of this straw man ban, anyway? The Tampa Bay Times reports that House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) said:
I think it’s very similar to offshore drilling. Floridians don’t want to sit on the beach and look at oil derricks, and they don’t want to sit on the beach and look at big windmills.
It doesn’t preclude them from doing it elsewhere in the state where it’s possible, but I think that’s a fair place to land.
Wind turbines pose little to no threat to beach views. And Floridians won’t ever look at oil derricks from the beach because oil drilling in state waters was banned in 2018 after the BP oil spill. Banning oil drilling is great, but doing so in state waters achieves nothing. That was a part of the oil industry’s “promote drilling but protect the beach” sleight of hand. As the BP oil spill proved, it doesn’t matter how far offshore an oil spill is; it’s catastrophic.
And state Senator Jay Collins (R-Tampa) had this to say about the impending wind turbine ban:
I think there are many causes [to climate change] and I think our weather patterns are cyclic. … Do I think there are things we can do better? Absolutely.
Anything that can protect our environment, i.e., let’s stop offshore wind until we can make sure it doesn’t disrupt the sonar of our whales, the ecosystem.
Note to self to send Jay Collins my colleague Jameson Dow’s article that definitively dispels the oil industry-driven “wind turbines kill whales” propaganda. This has been extensively debunked – it’s ships and climate change caused by fossil fuels that kill whales. Collins is playing politics.
And speaking of climate change, HB 1645 will also delete the majority of references to the words “climate change” in current state law. Not that Florida is vulnerable to the deleted words that begin with the letter C or anything.
The Tampa Bay Times also reports that the bill is “rolling back some regulations on natural gas pipelines by making it so any pipeline shorter than 100 miles wouldn’t have to go through a certification process. Currently, anything longer than 15 miles triggers that oversight.”
Roll out those unregulated natural gas pipelines, Tallahassee Republican supermajority, and feel proud that you saved the beach view from those hypothetical wind turbines in state waters that were never gonna happen.
Read more: Oil-funded lobbyists are trying to trick you into killing more whales
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Volvo Penta will debut its latest modular and scalable battery energy storage system (BESS) platform for the off-grid construction and mining industries at the bauma equipment show – here’s what you can expect.
Best-known for its marine engines and gensets, Volvo Penta is the power production arm of the Volvo Group, specializing in putting energy to work. Operating under the tagline, ‘Made to Move You’, Volvo Penta is headed to bauma 2025 with a plan to keep construction, port shipping, and mining operations moving productively and competitively throughout their transitions to battery and (in theory, at least) hydrogen power.
To that end, the company will show off a job site ready version of the scalable and modular BESS subsystem concept shown last year.
Volvo says its new, modular BESS subsystem will enable other OEMs and third party system integrators to seamlessly deploy electric power to meet the ever-exceeding energy needs in construction and mining.
“Our modular and scalable battery-electric platform is designed to support the electrification ecosystem—combining high-performance drivelines with the crucial energy storage subsystems for efficient charging and operation in construction and mining,” says Hannes Norrgren, President of Volvo Penta Industrial. “We want to meaningfully collaborate with our customers on value-added customization that will enable them to stay productive, efficient, and future-ready.”
The Penta substation at bauma will be built around the company’s “Cube” battery pack, an energy-dense solution with a favorable C-rate designed to make it easy for BESS manufacturers to offer more compact job site solutions capable of charging and discharging energy with high levels of speed and efficiency, enabling both stationary and mobile BESS configurations that can change and grow to meet the evolving needs of a given asset fleet or project.
A Volvo Penta-developed DC/DC unit converts the voltage from the Cube battery packs (600 V) into lower voltage (24 V) for powering auxiliaries and portable offices.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo Penta has always provided power. Historically that’s been from combustion, but the company is looking ahead, developing products that will bring energy to job sites, tractors, and more long after the last ICE engine shuts down.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Penta.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Just days after Rivian announced that it would be making its iconic electric delivery vans available to anyone willing to pay for one, the company launched the new Rivian Upfit Program, offering a “one-stop shop” to help fleet managers put its EVs to work.
Launched in partnership with commercial vehicle heavyweights Ranger Design, Sortimo of North America, Bush Specialty Vehicles, Holman, LEGEND, and EV Sportline, the Rivian Upfit Program helps fleet buyers make the switch to electric by simplifying the ordering process and delivering an experience that more closely reflects the experience fleet managers get at dealerships.
Despite partnering with leading brands and launching into a well-establish market, however, the program’s web page seems largely aimed at people outside the space – even kicking off with an explanation of what upfitting is:
Upfitting is the process of customizing a vehicle in order to meet fleet, business, or individual consumer needs to tackle the job at hand. This work is done after the vehicle has been built and released from the factory, and can include everything from shelving modifications, flooring options, to sirens and flashers and much more.
The program was announced on LinkedIn with a number of photos indicating upfit options for Rivian’s R1T and R1S vehicles focused on lifeguard and roadside assistance duty, and Rivian’s van upfit with a HVAC/telecom style toolbox arrangement.
No word on pricing or turnaround time.
Electrek’s Take
The general consensus around the Electrek water cooler is that the direct-to-consumer model offered by Rivian, Tesla, and even CarMax deliver a superior customer experience, I’ve consistently drunk the franchise dealer Kool-Aid, arguing that the industry-leading margins enjoyed by these companies actually indicate they’re giving consumers an objectively worse deal than they’d get in a more competitive dealer landscape.
That same competitiveness has led to talented fleet managers at those franchise dealers putting in the effort to get to know the needs of the businesses and buyers in their regions, to understand what upfit options makes sense for their local markets, and – crucially – what to stock for quick turnaround when their customers need it.
Rivian is hoping its upfit partners will do a lot of that heavy lifting for them, but my two cents is that if building cars is hard, building relationships is harder, and Rivian isn’t going to make a good first impression by talking down to its customers. If you think differently, let me know how I got it wrong in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Rivian, via LinkedIn.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
For 2025, the Ram ProMaster EV commercial van gets up to 180 miles range from its 110 kWh battery pack, new 12- and 13-foot cargo configurations to meet more fleets’ needs, and a starting price of “just” $56,495. All of which sounds … kind of familiar, right?
When Ram rolled out its ProMaster EV electric cargo van last year, the company promised a huge range of customizable features, 12- and 13- configurations, a “super high roof” variant, and more – even touting a heated windshield. Which is almost exactly what you’ll find hyped up in the latest Stellantis press release for the “All-new 2025 Ram ProMaster EV Cargo Van.”
So, if it’s basically the same van, what’s the story here?
Glad you asked – see, the 2024 announcement for the ProMaster EV made lots of promises, but anecdotal conversations revealed that the vast majority of ProMaster EVs that made it customers last year were the step van version, with its “pocket” side door and roll-up rear door.
That makes sense, considering that’s how Stellantis’ prime customers for the Ram ProMaster EV, Merchants Fleet …
The Ram Truck brand has announced that Merchants Fleet will become a key commercial customer of the all-new Ram ProMaster electric van (EV) that debuts later this year. The agreement calls for the purchase of 12,500 Ram ProMaster EVs.
STELLANTIS; JUN2023.
… and Amazon …
Stellantis, with input from Amazon, designed the vehicle with unique last mile delivery features and Amazon will deploy the vehicles to routes across the United States. Building on the current relationship and as part of the long-term agreement, Stellantis and Amazon will be putting thousands of BEV ProMasters on the road every year.
STELLANTIS; JAN2022.
Spec’ed them out.
Co-developed with Amazon
The story here, then, is that the conventional cargo variants (sliding van door, split-opening rear doors, etc.) are finally available for smaller fleets and van-lifers to order, production capacity apparently having caught up to demand. It’s that van, when ordered in a 12-foot cargo/low roof spec, that pushes that range estimate up to 180 miles. The high-roof version gets a claimed 164 miles of range.
“Our freedom of choice approach with powertrain extends to the Ram Professional lineup with an appropriate solution for last-mile delivery in the Ram ProMaster EV,” says Tim Kuniskis, Ram brand CEO. “With front-wheel drive and a low step-in height, the ProMaster is a solid player and continues to perform well in a wide variety of business sectors, such as the growing home delivery environment, construction services wholesale and IT services among others.”
For 2025, Stellantis has “repositioned” the ProMaster EV step van with a new, lower starting price to match its improved availability. The van can now be had for $69,995 plus $1,995 destination fee. That’s down significantly from the $79,990 starting price for 2024 – proving once again that old adage: good things come to those who wait.
For that money, you get the “All-new” Ram that’s so All-new, in fact, that Stellantis issued almost the exact same press photos they used at the 2024 launch. The order books for the 2025 ProMaster EV officially opened last week.
Electrek’s Take
Commercial vans for regional fleets are a no-brainer. Why? Because fleet managers are focused on the bottom line costs of operating their fleets – and, regardless of their political leanings, EVs cost less to own and operate than comparable ICE models. Until that fact changes, converting whatever assets to they can to electric will remain a priority.
If the “All-new” 2025 model is so similar, the specs so close, the photos so indistinguishable from the 2024 model that it takes your humble author nearly a week to figure if there’s even a story here at all hardly matters for a $10,000 price cut.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway