Skip to main content

EGEB: Offshore wind’s $70 billion opportunity, Sri Lanka floating solar, and more

In today’s EGEB:

  • The offshore wind industry may be looking at a $70 billion opportunity.
  • Sri Lanka approves 100 MW in floating solar projects.
  • BYD and Pireos Capital announce the deployment of 100MWh ESS in Mexico.
  • Toronto City Council could sue Big Oil for climate change costs.

Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

With U.S. offshore wind picking up momentum, new analysis sees the ability for nearly $70 billion in CAPEX revenue opportunity in the industry.

A white paper from the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind with analysis by the Renewables Consulting Group reaches those conclusions. The paper’s release notes the industry may generate nearly 20 gigawatts of “clean, cost-competitive power” by 2030. It breaks the costs down by component:

  • More than 1,700 offshore wind turbines and towers — $29.6 billion
  • More than 1,750 offshore wind turbine and substation foundations — $16.2 billion
  • More than 5,000 miles of power export, upland and array cables — $10.3 billion
  • More than 60 onshore and offshore substations — $6.8 billion
  • A wide range of marine support, insurance and project management activities — $5.3 billion

The paper also focuses on seven East Coast states that look to make up the bulk of this capacity, forecasting power procurements for:

  • New York, 7.7 GW
  • New Jersey, 3.5 GW
  • Massachusetts, 3.2 GW
  • Connecticut, 2 GW
  • Maryland, 1.2 GW
  • Rhode Island, 1 GW
  • Virginia, 12 MW

The analysis prompted plenty of excitement in quotes, including this from American Wind Energy Association CEO Tom Kiernan:

“America’s land-based wind industry already supports over 105,000 U.S. jobs and more than 500 factories. This paper lays out the $70 billion opportunity to further grow American jobs and manufacturing as development heats up to harness our nation’s world-class offshore wind potential.”

Sri Lanka Floats

The Sri Lankan government approved a 100 MW floating solar power project to be installed in the Maduru Oya Reservoir, according to Lanka Development News.

The floating solar farm will “likely” be coupled with battery storage capacity, and it will be a joint venture of three Sri Lankan entities plus the Canadian Solar Institute. Canada’s government actually proposed the project, which should cover 4 percent of the reservoir’s surface. The Sri Lankan government is now taking proposals to build the farm.

Again, when it comes to floating solar power projects, Asia continues to lead. Sri Lanka aims to install 200 MW of solar projects in total by 2020, and 1 GW by 2025.

Green New Deal, UK-style

BYD ESS

BYD and Pireos Capital announced a two-year partnership to deploy a 100MWh energy storage system in Mexico, equalling the daily power consumption of 30,000 households. The release notes:

“By partnering with BYD, Pireos Capital will be able to offer for the first time in Mexico an integrated PV+ESS solution, with smart integration software capabilities, designed to maximize the environmental and economic benefits of renewable energy, minimizing the financial risks associated with multiple-vendor integration and energy storage technology.”

Pireos Capital CEO Manuel Vegara said the partnership is “part of a larger two-year plan to deploy more than 240 MW of distributed generation and large-scale solar projects. We have created a specialized financial vehicle to finance the largest PV+ESS project pipeline in Mexico.”

Toronto vs. Big Oil

Toronto City Councillor Mike Layton is pushing for the city’s council to make oil and gas companies pay up for climate change-related costs incurred by the city. The motion is due to be put forward today, and Vice reports that “it has the support of the mayor and is likely to be passed.”

Upon acceptance, a report would be created that aims to figure out those extra costs of climate change being paid by the city. Layton thinks the price tag “is in the billions.”

Vice asked him how much of this push is a political statement, as opposed to “real legal action.” Layton said,

“I’d say that there’s a statement being made but I wouldn’t downplay the fact that we have hundreds of millions of dollars in state-of-good-repair and infrastructure upgrades that we are going to need to develop, that we’ll need to pay for. In all likelihood, a good chunk of it will have to do with climate change . . . I’m not sure if we’ll have a case in the end. I hope we will. I’m looking for that legal advice to say that’s a path that we could go down.”

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Stay up to date with the latest content by subscribing to Electrek on Google News. You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.