The quest to make his “Green New Deal” a bigger US mission has led President Biden to open the oceans to generating electricity.
Announced on October 18th, leases for offshore wind farming will open on December 6th. As announced by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton, the administration is touting this as the future of energy for the US. “We’re not just committed to the country’s transition to a clean energy economy, one that combats climate change, creates good-paying jobs, and ensures economic opportunities are accessible to all. We’re actually taking action and driving results.”
All her talking points could also be accomplished by allowing oil producers to up production by restoring leases and allowing for new pipelines to get oil moving. These wind farms aren’t combating climate change the way they are claiming, and the destruction it could mean for wildlife is untold. With five areas up for grabs, the expectation is that this will create thousands of new jobs and 4.5 gigawatts of power. With current energy uses, that would power 1.5 million homes.
During this announcement, hundreds of offshore developers met in Rhode Island to discuss the future of green energy, and their claims of how it will improve the country. Currently, RI is home to the nation’s only offshore wind farm, but with only five turbines, it lacks the commercial levels of production California is promising.
Previous announcements from the Biden administration have established a goal of creating offshore wind farms capable of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. This lofty goal would provide power for 10 million homes and utilize currently accepted methods of securing these massive structures to the ocean floor. He has also outlined a process to produce 15 gigawatts of energy through floating platforms by 2035.
With targets for California and Oregon off the Pacific coast, and Maine on the Atlantic, Biden wants to surround the nation in offshore wind energy. While this has the potential to benefit those along the shores, it leaves people in the middle of the country high and dry. Additionally, there are no guarantees it will do anything to help lower energy prices or use. If anything, it only serves to line the pockets of green energy titans.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee spoke to those in attendance with a fever of positivity for his residents. He claimed that RI would be able to generate a high level of electricity soon and that the state was embracing the idea fully. He forecasts that 70% of their estimated energy will come from carbon-free sources like wind by 2030.
Molly Morris, the incoming president of Equinor Wind US is excited about the idea and wants to see the process of getting permits and approvals streamlined. She hopes that developers and regulators will come together soon to devise a plan to make approvals more transparent and faster soon.
Biden has fully moved into the self-serving portion of his Presidency. This isn’t a victory for California, Rhode Island, or even the nation. Rather, it is a victory for the green energy companies that backed his campaign. It’s a victory for other leftists who are campaigning now and who have also gotten some of that sweet green cash.
For the regular American, this does nothing. It certainly will increase the profit margins for electric companies, and as we have historically seen they won’t drop prices on the consumer end to coincide with their drop in costs. With untold damage to oceanic life and commercial fishing, this has a high likelihood to cause more problems than it solves.
For Californians, this is not a great or even good risk-reward balance. Just like their oppressive gun laws, their people need to wake up and smell the coffee. Green energy is just not something the country is ready for now, or even in the next 20 years.
