Offshore wind, the Google way

Google and other companies are investing in a multi-billion dollar project to create an underwater transmission “backbone” for wind energy projects off the mid-Atlantic Coast.

The official rollout is later Tuesday, but Rick Needham, Google’s director of green business operations, was kind enough to blog about it late last night.

“We just signed an agreement to invest in the development of a backbone transmission project off the Mid-Atlantic coast that offers a solid financial return while helping to accelerate offshore wind development — so it’s both good business and good for the environment. The new project can enable the creation of thousands of jobs, improve consumer access to clean energy sources and increase the reliability of the Mid-Atlantic region's existing power grid,” he writes.



“When built out, the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) backbone will stretch 350 miles off the coast from New Jersey to Virginia and will be able to connect 6,000MW of offshore wind turbines. That’s equivalent to 60% of the wind energy that was installed in the entire country last year and enough to serve approximately 1.9 million households.”

A $5 billion plan

Other players involved include transmission company Trans-Elect and Good Energies, which specializes renewable and efficiency investments.

The New York Times, which got an early look at the plans, pegs the costs of the proposed project at $5 billion, although the up front investments are much smaller.

“We are investing 37.5% of the equity in this initial development stage, with the goal of obtaining all the necessary approvals to finance and begin constructing the line,” Needham writes. “Although the development stage requires only a small part of the total estimated project budget, it represents a critical stage for the project.”

Trans-Elect hopes to start construction in 2013. “The $1.8 billion first phase, a 150-mile stretch from northern New Jersey to Rehoboth Beach, Del., could go into service by early 2016, it said. The rest would not be completed until 2021 at the earliest,” the Times reports.

Needed: Spinning turbines

Offshore wind remains only a concept in the U.S. — there are no projects in operation, but several are in the planning stages. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week signed a lease for the Cape Wind project off the Massachusetts coast, although that’s outside the proposed transmission corridor.

Google’s Needham believes the transmission proposal can help get mid-Atlantic projects into the water. “By putting strong, secure transmission in place, the project removes a major barrier to scaling up offshore wind, an industry that despite its potential, only had its first federal lease signed last week and still has no operating projects in the U.S.,” he writes.

Federal power official likes what he sees – so far

“Conceptually it looks to me to be one of the most interesting transmission projects that I’ve ever seen walk through the door,” Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, tells the Times. “It provides a gathering point for offshore wind for multiple projects up and down the coast.”

Rand Paul, Jack Conway spar over cap-and-trade

Cap-and-trade is dead in Congress but has a zombie-like presence on the campaign trail as Republicans in conservative states try and tether their foes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Here’s the Louisville Courier-Journal on last night’s debate between Kentucky Senate candidates Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D), the state’s attorney general:

“Paul . . . has tried to connect Conway to President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at every turn. He's noted that Conway supports the health care overhaul legislation, dubbed Obamacare, and has accused Conway of supporting ‘cap and trade’ energy legislation, which Conway denies. Those all were themes repeated again and again during the debate.”

Feingold, Johnson at odds over climate, too

Ron Johnson (R), the businessman trying to topple Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) in a highly competitive race, has drawn attention for his claim that climate change more likely stems from sunspots than human activity.

Climate surfaced again at their debate Monday.

“In response to a question about climate change, Johnson reiterated that he doesn't believe it has been proven that mankind has contributed to global warming. Feingold said he trusts the judgment of scientists who acknowledge global warming is real,” The Associated Press reports.

On tap Tuesday: Bromwich speaks

Michael Bromwich, the Interior Department’s top offshore-drilling regulator, will brief reporters Tuesday morning. We looked at what’s at stake in Monday’s E2 Morning Roundup.

On tap Tuesday II: Report says big energy, manufacturing companies embracing "sustainability"

An oil industry-backed group will unveil a report Tuesday that finds a range of industry sectors are increasingly committed to energy-saving “sustainability” practices.

The Chinese state-run petroleum company that hit a political buzz saw when it tried to buy a U.S. oil firm in 2005 is now pouring $2.2 billion into a Texas project — a deal unlikely to prompt the same furor.

CNOOC Ltd.’s investment in Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Eagle Ford Shale project is the largest-ever Chinese investment in the U.S. oil-and-gas industry, according to Bloomberg.

But the project may create controversy of a different kind: Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon said Monday that it will employ hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique green groups oppose over fears of groundwater contamination.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), head of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, says the collapse of Constellation Energy’s plan to build a nuclear power plant illustrates the need to overhaul the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program for low-carbon projects.

Bingaman has pushed for a federal “Clean Energy Deployment Administration” — also called a green bank — to provide various types of financing for renewable energy, transmission and other low-emissions projects.

He has also called for other changes to DOE’s loan guarantee program for clean energy projects. It was created in a 2005 energy law but was slow to get off the ground, although DOE has begun issuing loan guarantees under the Obama administration.

Four main ethanol industry trade groups are floating draft principles ahead of key White House and Capitol Hill decisions about extending federal assistance and market share for the gasoline additive.
 
The groups — American Coalition for Ethanol, Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association — recently drew up the draft blueprint offering a long-term policy roadmap for the industry to help in their discussions with the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill.
 
“It’s all sort of a work in progress,” said Growth Energy spokeswoman Stephanie Dreyer.
 
“This frankly makes us much more effective as an industry,” one ethanol industry official added.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin is looking to literally blow a hole through efforts to enact cap-and-trade legislation if he becomes the state’s next U.S. senator.

In a new 30-second TV ad running statewide Monday, the Democratic nominee to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) actually fires a bullet through a piece of paper meant to symbolize last year’s House-passed cap-and-trade bill.

“I sued EPA, and I’ll take dead aim at the cap-and-trade bill,” Manchin says in a voiceover while he takes aim with a rifle and shoots a mock version of the bill. “Because it’s bad for West Virginia.”

Manchin is trying to illustrate his independence from Washington lawmakers and the Obama administration as he finds himself trailing or — at best — in a dead heat, with Republican John Raese for Byrd's seat.

A spokesman for Reid says the aide used "poor judgment," but that policy was not affected.

Anyone seeking clues about the future of offshore oil-and-gas drilling will want to pay attention this week.

Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) is a former employee of Salazar’s who is also one of the more vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

Top U.S. climate change negotiator Todd Stern said China is ignoring pledges made in a non-binding climate-change accord in Copenhagen last December.