GOLDEN CRESCENT AND 1000 ISLAND NEWS

  If you listen to the people who are opposed to the gas stove ban and the Public Service Commission’s decision to deny higher wholesale rates to offshore wind projects, you might think that lives will be ruined —  ruined!  — by these policies.   Here's another way of looking at it: Even more lives would be affected by  not  implementing the gas stove ban, or by allowing projects already under development to double their costs to $22 billion, an increase that would be borne by ratepayers.   The time is now for New York to transition away from fossil-fueled homes and businesses, and that includes the fuel that powers our many appliances. Opponents argue in a recently filed lawsuit that a federal provision regarding national energy efficiency standards preempts the state’s ban. That's absurd. How can standards addressing the effectiveness of a given appliance somehow apply to how that appliance is powered? But incredibly, a court in California agreed with a similar lawsuit in tha

  The offshore wind industry has  struggled mightily  this year, as multiple companies have canceled contracts to build projects in the U.S.   as costs to develop them have surged . On Tuesday, investors got some good and bad news about the industry—pointing a way forward for offshore wind but also raising more questions about its near-term profitability. The bad news came from  General Electric  whose business making offshore wind turbines has been hurt by rising inflation for the materials it uses. GE is one of the few American companies involved in the wind industry, which is mostly centered in Europe and China. GE built the turbines for the first commercial-scale project currently going up off of Martha’s Vineyard. But CEO Larry Culp said on a conference call with analysts after  its earnings report  on Tuesday that the offshore wind division is expected to lose $1 billion this year. It will lose a similar amount in 2024 but see “substantially improved cash performance,” he said. G

  Solar stocks dropped after SolarEdge Technologies ( SEDG ), a U.S.-listed and Israel-based equipment maker, said clients in Europe had been  "much slower" to install its equipment  recently.   In early action: SolarEdge stock plunged around 26%,  making it the worst performer in the S&P 500.   Rival Enphase Energy ( ENPH ) dropped about 13%.  It was the second -biggest decliner in the S&P 500.   SunRun ( RUN ) fell more than 4% and SunPower ( SPWR ) lost around 8%.   Late Thursday, SolarEdge cut its guidance for third-quarter revenue and gross margin, and said revenues were likely to be substantially lower in the fourth quarter.   Chief Executive Zvi Lando said SolarEdge had seen  "substantial unexpected cancellations and pushouts of existing backlog" from European distributors . The conflict in Gaza didn't affect the guidance, Lando said.   Higher interest rates and increased costs have pressured the renewable-energy industry this year, and several Eu

  Campaign group Net Zero Watch says that the wind industry has effectively admitted that it has been deceiving the British public over the cost of the energy “transition”. RWE Renewables has just told the Government that it needs its subsidy  “strike price” to rise by 70%  if any more wind farms are to be built. Net Zero Watch director Andrew Montford said: “Rishi Sunak has said that there has been a long-term deception of the British public. RWE’s demand for more subsidy confirms it. The Green Blob has been lying about renewables costs for years.  The truth is that wind power is expensive, and becoming more so . The energy “transition” is a transition to poverty, but few in Westminster seem to have the guts to say so.” Notes for editors For many years, the wind industry has claimed that they had seen a dramatic fall in costs, and signing “Contracts for Difference” (CfDs) to deliver power at extraordinarily low prices.  This was subsequently revealed as a scam , with  windfarms refusi

  Shares in Siemens Energy crashed to record lows after the energy-technology giant said it was talking to the German government and banks about guarantees to back long-term projects.   The stock fell as much as 39% in Frankfurt, hitting the lowest levels since it was spun off as a public company in 2020. Shares in former owner Siemens, which remains a large shareholder, fell more than 5%. Both stocks are included in Germany's benchmark DAX index.   Siemens Energy also said it expects its wind business, Siemens Gamesa, to record lower revenues and higher losses than market expectations through the next fiscal year.   The company  issued a similar warning in June when it withdrew its profit outlook for 2023  because the wind unit's turbine components were failing more often.   Clean-energy companies, including those focused on both wind and solar, have come under pressure in recent months from rising interest rates. The challenges created by higher borrowing costs build on years

  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will invest in three offshore wind projects as the state tries to meet its ambitious timetable to transition to renewable energy sources, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. The Democratic governor announced the  conditional  awards  as  high development costs  affect other offshore wind projects for New York and around the globe . The state also announced awards to 22 land-based solar, wind and hydro projects. Combined, the projects will generate enough power for 2.6 million homes, with almost two-thirds of it coming from the three offshore wind projects. “This is an historic investment to demonstrate our full commitment to renewables,” Hochul said at a ceremony announcing the investments. Offshore wind is a crucial component of New York’s plan to transition to a carbon-free electricity system by 2040. State law sets goals for 70% of New York’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, and 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. There is cur

  Oct 24 (Reuters) - New York officials on Tuesday said the state has awarded conditional contracts to three offshore wind projects as part of a massive renewable energy procurement that will provide 12% of the state's power needs in 2030. The announcement, which  the state billed as the nation's largest ever investment in offshore wind , comes less than two weeks after New York regulators  rejected requests  by three offshore wind developers to renegotiate their contracts because of soaring costs. In response, Governor Kathy Hochul pledged to support renewable energy projects to meet the state's climate change goals.   The new awards, to projects under development by France's TotalEnergies  (TTEF.PA) , Germany's RWE  (RWEG.DE) , Britain's National Grid  (NG.L) , and Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), are  still under negotiation , the state said.   The more than 4 gigawatts of offshore wind power the projects will be capable of generating i

  Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration gave a tentative green light Tuesday to   three new wind farms off New York City’s shores,   including one project that would shift the hulking Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City to 100% renewable energy. The long-awaited announcement marks a major step in New York state’s continuing shift to clean energy, as it works to meet its legally mandated goal of generating 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.  But it also comes after Hochul vetoed a bill last week that would have fast-tracked a similar wind farm off of Long Island,  and took another action in recent weeks that drew condemnation from wind-power advocates. Once they come online in 2030, the new wind farms are expected to generate about 4 gigawatts of power, according to the state. That number jumps to 6.4 gigawatts  when combined with 22 additional land-based projects also approved on Tuesday , which the Hochul administration says is enough to account for abou

  New York Awards Contracts for Three Offshore Wind Projects ·  State supplying $300 million for two blade, nacelle factories ·  Regulators rejected other developers’ bid to renegotiate deals   New York is aiming to have 9 gigawatts of offshore wind power in service by 2035 .   By  Will Wade   October 24, 2023   New York has selected  three offshore wind farms  to negotiate power contracts with the state as the industry faces increasing challenges from rising costs. The contracts are part of a sweeping set of awards that  also include 22 onshore renewable energy projects  and will lead to the installation of as much as 6.4 gigawatts of clean energy, according to a  statement  Tuesday. That’s expected to be enough to power 2.6 million homes. New York has some of the most ambitious climate goals in the US, and the latest measures are an important step in the state’s plan to get 70% of its power from renewable sources by 2030. However, the state is facing hurdles after costs for installin

  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have expedited an offshore wind project off the coast of Long Island and allowed for a transmission line under the public beach in the city of Long Beach. "It is incumbent on renewable energy developers to cultivate and maintain strong ties to their host communities," Hochul wrote in her veto message. "Here, the City Council of Long Beach, the host community for the wind power project, has made clear that, while it supports the state's efforts to transition from the use of fossil fuels, it would not support or authorize any alienation of parkland." The veto drew recrimination from clean energy supporters   who have long been waiting for New York’s offshore wind projects to get underway. The downstate region’s energy sector has become increasingly reliant on natural gas and other fossil fuels in recent years to power one of the world's most densely populated regions. Long Beach City Council President John

Biden can use these new wars to announce that he has changed his policies on U.S. domestic oil production . O il  and natural-gas prices spiked after Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel over the weekend. With the supposed transition to “net zero,” some might expect the prices of electric batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels to follow suit,  but they appeared to be unaffected . This underscores the obvious: Global economies are driven by the prices of fossil fuels, not by the prices of renewables. This is all the more reason for President Joe Biden to change his policies on domestic oil and natural-gas production. America can be the world’s largest supporter of oil and natural gas, and it can ramp up production to offset cuts in oil production from Iran and the rest of the Middle East. Biden campaigned on a platform of getting rid of fossil fuels, and he put his campaign promise into practice when he became president by using what he described as the “ existential threat” of climate

  Powering The Unplugged Here's the first section of a new paper on electrification in developing countries that I wrote for the Alliance For Responsible Citizenship   OCT 21, 2023 Share     I’m pleased to announce that yesterday, the  Alliance For Responsible Citizenship  published my new paper on how to bring more electricity to developing countries. It’s called “Powering The Unplugged: Overcoming the Barriers to Electrification in the Developing World.” On October 30, I will be in London attending the inaugural conference of the ARC to present my paper and moderate a pair of panels on energy. ( The conference is sold out. ) I will also be doing podcasts from the conference. The ARC, created by Jordan Peterson, Dan Crenshaw, Bjorn Lomborg, Philippa Stroud, Arthur Brooks, Alan McCormick, Michael Shellenberger, and several others, is “an international community with  a vision for a better world where every citizen can prosper, contribute and flourish . We are inviting you to join u