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Sparks

3 More Offshore Wind Projects Bite the Dust

This time, blame GE.

Offshore wind.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Things are looking down again for New York’s embattled offshore wind industry.

The state is abandoning all three of the offshore wind projects it awarded conditional contracts to last October, after failing to secure final agreements with any of the developers, Politico reported Friday.

New York officials and the Biden administration had lauded the three projects — which were expected to supply about 12% of New York’s electricity in 2030 — as a key milestone in the nation’s transition to renewable energy. The planned investments in offshore wind were “demonstrating to the nation how to recalibrate in the wake of global economic challenges while driving us toward a greener and more prosperous future for generations to come,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the time.

The projects all hinged on the availability of a larger turbine then in the works from General Electric — and faltered after GE decided to stop work on the new turbine earlier this year. Combined, the three projects would have added more than 4,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity to the regional electric grid. Their termination puts New York’s ambitious climate target of 70% renewable energy by 2030 further out of reach.

This setback occurs just as things appeared to be looking up for New York’s offshore wind industry. In February, the state awarded new conditional contracts for its Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind projects, which were first bid out in 2019 but then re-bid after the state refused to renegotiate in the face of rising costs. Together, those would contribute more than 1,700 megawatts to the grid.

State regulators reiterated their commitment to offshore wind on Friday, according to Politico. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the agency overseeing the offshore wind projects, is expected to initiate another round of offshore wind bids soon.

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Sparks

Interior Department Targets Wind Developers Using Bird Protection Law

A new letter sent Friday asks for reams of documentation on developers’ compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

An eagle clutching a wind turbine.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Fish and Wildlife Service is sending letters to wind developers across the U.S. asking for volumes of records about eagle deaths, indicating an imminent crackdown on wind farms in the name of bird protection laws.

The Service on Friday sent developers a request for records related to their permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which compels companies to obtain permission for “incidental take,” i.e. the documented disturbance of eagle species protected under the statute, whether said disturbance happens by accident or by happenstance due to the migration of the species. Developers who received the letter — a copy of which was reviewed by Heatmap — must provide a laundry list of documents to the Service within 30 days, including “information collected on each dead or injured eagle discovered.” The Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The $7 billion program had been the only part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund not targeted for elimination by the Trump administration.

The EPA blocking solar power.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to cancel grants awarded from the $7 billion Solar for All program, the final surviving grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, by the end of this week, The New York Times is reporting. Two sources also told the same to Heatmap.

Solar for All awarded funds to 60 nonprofits, tribes, state energy offices, and municipalities to deliver the benefits of solar energy — namely, utility bill savings — to low-income communities. Some of the programs are focused on rooftop solar, while others are building community solar, which enable residents that don’t own their homes to access cheaper power.

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John Curtis and Charles Grassley.
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Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wants “begin construction” to mean what it means.

To that end, Grassley has placed a “hold” on three nominees to the Treasury Department, the agency tasked with writing the rules and guidance for implementing the tax provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many of which depend on that all-important definition.

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