A large ship being built to build offshore wind farms in a way that complies with a union-backed law is behind schedule and over budget, compounding a series of setbacks that have complicated the Biden administration's efforts to expand domestic wind power, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Charybdis, a massive ship under construction in South Texas, would be the first vessel legally permitted and capable of transporting wind turbine components from a US port and then installing turbines in the open ocean, the WSJ reported. reported. The ship is about a year behind schedule, which has put a strain on the offshore wind industry and made it less likely that the U.S. will meet the Biden administration's goal of producing 30 GW of wind power by 2030.
In addition to being behind schedule, Charybdis is expected to have a final cost of $625 million, roughly double what a similar ship would cost elsewhere, analysts said.
The AFL-CIO, the largest labor union in the United States, supports the Jones Act, the law that makes Charybdis necessary. According to the WSJ, the Jones Act requires American-made and manned ships to carry wind turbine parts to offshore farm sites.
No existing U.S. ships have the capacity to install the wind turbines that many energy companies have envisioned, and foreign ships that can build them cannot pick up components directly from U.S. ports.
Instead of large foreign ships directly picking up turbine parts from US ports, smaller American ships will transport parts from ports to farm sites where foreign ships use their cranes to pick up the parts and begin construction.
Turbine blades can be larger than football fields, and turbine towers can be up to 600 feet above the water.
Ørsted, a Danish wind energy company, hired Charybdis to build two wind farms off the coast of New York, but has since had to explore alternative options because of delays, the WSJ reported.
There is an ongoing shortage of construction vessels, which is contributing to the cancellation and delay of wind power projects, according to the WSJ.
Other wind companies have them paid tens of millions of dollars to get out of contracts to sell power to utilities after they failed to complete projects, citing inflation and supply chain difficulties.
Wind energy project cancellations have complicated the Biden administration's clean energy goals. The U.S. is only on track to meet about half of its 2030 offshore wind energy goal, seconds to Reuters.
The delays and cancellations will likely drive up the prices Americans end up paying for wind power, according to the WSJ.
The Biden administration has financially supported the wind industry through tax credits and manufacturing subsidies.
Despite federal support, some experts think taxpayers could be on the hook to bail out failing wind companies.
“No one should doubt the willingness of the Biden administration and congressional Democrats to try to spend billions more debt-financed dollars to rescue their offshore wind industry,” said David Blackmon, an energy consultant. he said the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The AFL-CIO did not immediately respond to DCNF's requests for comment.
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