The US’s first Atlantic floating offshore wind lease sale raises $21.9 million
The Atlantic coast’s first floating offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Maine resulted in two provisional winners and $21.9 million in winning bids, with four lease areas awarded.
The first Atlantic floating offshore wind lease sale
The Biden-Harris administration announced that Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind emerged as the winners after one round of bidding. Avangrid secured two leases for a total of $11.17 million – these areas encompass nearly 223,500 acres and are located around 29.5 nautical miles off the coast of Massachusetts. They can potentially deliver around 3 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy to the New England region.
Invenergy also obtained two lease areas, totaling just over 215,600 acres, with winning bids amounting to $10.78 million. One area is about 46 nautical miles from Maine, while the other is 21.6 nautical miles from Massachusetts. Together, these areas have the potential to supply renewable energy to more than 2.3 million homes.
Avangrid’s portfolio on the East Coast has now expanded significantly, with over 5 GW of offshore wind capacity planned – enough to power more than 2 million households. The company is involved in projects such as Vineyard Wind 1, New England Wind 1 and 2, and Kitty Hawk Wind South. With these new leases, Avangrid now holds the largest offshore wind development portfolio in the Northeast region.
As for getting those floating wind turbines out in the Atlantic, Avangrid asserts that it’s positioned to leverage the global expertise of its parent company, Iberdrola, which is pioneering floating offshore wind in Europe.
The Gulf of Maine wind lease sale is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s initiative to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. Since taking office, the administration has approved 10 commercial offshore wind projects – starting from zero – that together could power more than 5 million homes. It has also conducted six offshore wind lease auctions, including the first-ever for the Pacific and Gulf Coasts.
Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic Network, stated: “Today’s successful auction demonstrates that offshore wind will continue to play a leading role in the Northeast’s energy future. These lease areas will deliver well-paying, local jobs, and drive significant investment in manufacturing facilities, ports, and transmission development. Despite the general uncertainty around the upcoming presidential election, this is a vote of confidence for an American industry that has already received nearly $3 billion of new supply chain investment in the first nine months of 2024.”
Electrek’s Take
When it comes to the bigger offshore wind picture, Electrek reported last month that the global wind turbine order intake reached new highs in the first half of 2024, with 91.2 GW of activity, a 23% increase year-over-year, thanks to the Asia-Pacific region, according to analysis from Wood Mackenzie.
Global onshore wind order intake activity increased in the first half of 2024, but the offshore sector struggled, with order intake decreasing 38% year-over-year through the first half (-4.1 GW), as challenging project economics have curbed the market.
Luke Lewandowski, vice president, global renewables research at Wood Mackenzie, noted that “the offshore market has almost 30 GW of conditional orders globally, 21 GW of which are for projects in Europe and the US, but challenging economics continue to delay conversion into firm orders.”
So today’s auction announcement is historic – putting floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine was only a concept four years ago. However, only four of the eight areas attracted high bids, which isn’t surprising considering the current challenges facing US offshore wind and the tight election, with one candidate threatening to undermine the industry.
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Leading yard operation 3PL YMX Logistics has announced plans to deploy fully twenty (20) of Orange EV’s fully electric Class 8 terminal trucks at a number of distribution and manufacturing sites across North America.
As the shipping and logistics industries increasingly move to embrace electrification, yard operations have proven to be an almost ideal use case for EVs, enabling companies like Orange EV, which specialize in yard hostlers or terminal tractors, to drive real, impactful change. To that end, companies like YMX are partnering with Orange EV.
“This relationship between YMX and Orange EV is a significant step forward in transforming yard operations across North America,” said Matt Yearling, CEO of YMX Logistics. “Besides the initial benefits of reduction in emissions and carbon footprint, our customers are also seeing improvements in the overall operational efficiency and seeking to expand. Our team members have also been sharing positive feedback about their new equipment and highlighting the positive impact on their health and day-to-day activities.”
This Orange looks good in blue
One of the most interesting aspects of this story – beyond the Orange EV HUSK-e XP’s almost unbelievable 180,000 lb. GCWR spec. – is that this isn’t a story about California’s ports, which mandate EVs. Instead, YMX is truly deploying these trucks throughout the country, with at least four currently in Chicago (and more on the way).
“Our collaboration with YMX Logistics represents a powerful stride in delivering sustainable yard solutions at scale for enterprise customers,” explains Wayne Mathisen, CEO of Orange EV. “With rising demand for electric yard trucks, our joint efforts ensure that more companies can access the environmental, financial, and operational benefits of electrification … this is a win for the planet, the workforce, and the bottom line of these organizations.”
We interviewed Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens on The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back, but if you’re not familiar with these purpose-built trucks, it’s worth a listen.
HEP-isode 26
SOURCE | IMAGES: YMX Logistics.
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On today’s thrilling episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got the all-new Hyundai IONIQ 9 and its “a “rolling living room” pivoting captain’s chairs, Kia gets a go-fast 7 passenger SUV and an updated EV6, while Honda announces plans to start producing solid-state batteries at its new facility in just a few weeks.
We’ve also got big news for American workers – a Minnesota power company is ditching coal for solar while ExxonMobil and LG Chem get to work extracting thousands of tons of lithium out of Tennessee’s soil.
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations sitewide. Learn more by clicking here.
You can watch the episode, below.
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Read more: Farm-fegnugen? Volkswagen rolls out an electric tractor.
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Arevon Energy has kicked off operations at Vikings Solar-plus-Storage – one of the US’s first utility-scale solar peaker plants.
The $529 million project in Imperial County, California, near Holtville, features 157 megawatts of solar power paired with 150 megawatts/600 megawatt hours of battery storage.
Vikings Solar-plus-Storage is designed to take cheap daytime solar power and store it for use during more expensive peak demand times, like late afternoons and evenings. The battery storage system can quickly respond to changes in demand, helping tackle critical grid needs.
Vikings leverages provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that support affordable clean energy, strengthen grid resilience, boost US manufacturing, and create good jobs.
The Vikings project has already brought significant benefits to the local area. It employed over 170 people during construction, many local workers, and boosted nearby businesses like restaurants, hotels, and stores. On top of that, Vikings will pay out more than $17 million to local governments over its lifespan.
“Vikings’ advanced design sets the standard for safe and reliable solar-plus-storage configurations,” said Arevon CEO Kevin Smith. “The project incorporates solar panels, trackers, and batteries that showcase the growing strength of US renewable energy manufacturing.”
The project includes Tesla Megapack battery systems made in California, First Solar’s thin-film solar panels, and smart solar trackers from Nextracker. San Diego-based SOLV Energy handled the engineering, procurement, and construction work.
San Diego Community Power (SDCP) will buy the energy from the Vikings project under a long-term deal, helping power nearly 1 million customer accounts. SDCP and Arevon have also signed an agreement for the 200 MW Avocet Energy Storage Project in Carson, California, which will start construction in early 2025.
Vikings is named after the Holtville High School mascot, and Arevon is giving back to the local community by funding scholarships for deserving Holtville High students.
Arevon is a major renewable energy developer across the US and a key player in California, with nearly 2,500 MW in operation and more than 1,250 MW under construction.
Read more: Minnesota’s largest coal plant goes solar: Sherco Solar comes online
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