Offshore Wind Project Comes On-Line, 60% More Than EIA Estimate; 10X Cost Of New NG Plant; Definition Of Insanity: NYC To Repeat Science Project; Obama Legacy -- December 18, 2016

Updates

Later, 3:15 p.m. Central Time: from another reader, quoting other source(s). There were a couple of "justifications" for this boondoggle:

• bragging rights -- very, very expensive bragging rights
• huge payoff for owners down the road -- maybe soon with tax credits, investors
• Obama's legacy

Form the Block Island Times, bragging rights:

... an undersea electric transmission cable linking Block Island to the mainland is now a reality. On Thursday, June 23, National Grid landed its 30-megawatt sea-to-shore cable at the Fred Benson Town Beach to make the connection. National Grid then spliced its $107 million sea-to-shore cable with the terrestrial cable on Tuesday, June 28 at 5 p.m.

The reader's comments with slight editing:

The $290 million 30 MW wind farm has a $107 million "interconnect" cable tied into the "national" grid.

None of this was done to provide power to the "national" grid.

The cable is for the 75% of the time, more or less, that the wind speed is "incorrect."

Justification for this boondoggle was as a pilot project for a $multi-billion follow-up wind farm and to "displace the diesel generators" in current use supplying the 5-megawatt load.

A $107 million cable/substation to connect to a 25 megawatt peak capacity, intermittent and non-dispatchable source?

No one can be that stupid to do this again ... hopefully America's first and last offshore wind farm boondoggle.

Later, 12:25 p.m. Central Time: my mistake. The Block Island off-shore wind farm provides electricity to the state's electric grid; it was not built to supply electricity specifically to the island. For now, I will leave up the original post but later will correct it. From a reader regarding Deepwater Wind (DW Wind):

• power goes to mainland, to local utility
• power to Block Island originates from mainland-base utility and transmitted via new cable (NOT included in cost projections for DW Wind)
• built in, incremental rate increae for DW Wind owners that, decades on, guarantees about 50 cents/KWh fee ... five times PA residential rate
• current, long time Block Island power sourced by aged diesel generators. They wanted long term, reliable electric. Costs of DW project disbursed throughout state

Later, 10:57 a.m. Central Time: My fingers were frozen, and I accidentally clicked on "delete" rather than "publish" and once deleted, unable to recover. Sorry about that. A reader noted, see comments:

Block Island is no getaway for the elite; it's a place to get drunk on a summer weekend.  

That explains the decision for the wind towers, I guess.

Original Post

 

A big "thank you" to a reader spotting this one. From IER, December 16, 2016, a most expensive offshore wind farm becomes operational. Data points (these are my original data points; some are in error, see updates above):

• off the coast of Rhode Island
• Block Island Wind Farm
• 30 MW facility -- repeat, a 30MW facility
• five large offshore turbines; GE Renewable Energy; operated by Deepwater Wind
• to supply energy to 1,000 full-time residents of Block Island
• years and year of state / federal / town hall meetings / yada, yada, yada
• $300 million 
• $10,000/kw
• 10 times more than the cost of a new natural gas combined cycle unit
• 58% more costly than what the EIA expects a first-of-a-kind offshore wind unit to cost

The definition of insanity:

• Long Island, NY, to do the same thing. 

Thoughts:

• $300 million / 1,000 residents =  $300,000 / resident.
• What was the source of their electricity prior to the wind towers?
• Do the wind towers supply all electricity? Of course not. Back-up is still needed for when the wind is not blowing or blowing too fast. 
• Does anybody even think about these things?
  There was already some source for electricity for theses 1,000 residents, so wind was not a last-ditch option.

Based on the wiki entry, Block Island looks like a getaway for the elites and thus explains the largess and boondoggle:

The Nature Conservancy added Block Island to its list of "The Last Great Places"; the list consists of twelve sites in the Western Hemisphere. About 40 percent of the island is set aside for conservation.

Presidents Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Ulysses S. Grant have visited Block Island.

Other famous visitors include Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh, who each made separate trips to the island in 1929.

Block Island is coextensive with the town of New Shoreham. The island is a popular summer tourist destination and is known for its bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and beaches.

The island hosts two historic lighthouses: Block Island North Light, on the northern tip of the island, and Block Island Southeast Light, on the southeastern side. Much of the northwestern tip of the island is an undeveloped natural area and resting stop for birds along the Atlantic Flyway.

Every summer the island hosts Block Island Race Week, a competitive, week-long sailboat race. On odd years, the event is held by the Storm Trysail Club, and on even years by the Block Island Race Week. Yachts compete in various classes, sailing courses in Block Island Sound and circumnavigating the island.

No wonder Michelle (Obama) has lost all hope for the US.