Top offshore wind firms eye La.

Texas may be better suited, but Louisiana’s political winds are blowing up interest for the first wind turbines for development in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), and as early as 2028. The Governor’s Climate Task Force is showing the political will and interest of the industry’s Top 2 players: Ørsted and RWE. RWE is a Germany-based firm with renewable energy operations in 15 countries. Ørsted is a Danish company that supplies large-scale and cost-competitive offshore wind energy and solar energy solutions, according to its website. Both have written the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) urging regulators to focus on Louisiana despite studies showing Texas has stronger, more consistent wind speeds. Currently, Louisiana is the only Gulf state to have “signaled its interest in pursuing an offshore wind policy to meet its climate objectives,” Kate McKeever, an RWE manager of U.S. government affairs. Louisiana’s Climate Initiatives Task Force draft plan highlights the need to develop offshore wind to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the governor’s “net zero” carbon emissions goal by 2050. With the state’s renewable energy policy, “there is a pathway with a timeframe of when commercial viability may be achieved,” McKeever wrote to BOEM. RWE Renewables recommends BOEM “prioritize” advancing a leasing area in SW Louisiana's sweet spot for offshore wind development near Lake Charles. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said RWE’s opinion “feels very much like validation to me.” Harry Vorhoff, senior staffer for the climate task force, pointed to a renewable energy study that estimates a potential Lake Charles project would create about 4,470 construction jobs and generate $445M in goods and services. Once constructed, it could support 150 jobs and $14M yearly into the economy. The same study also found that the Texas coast had the strongest potential. But Louisiana remains a strong contender because of its O&G industry workforce that’s seen jobs evaporating with falling fuel prices. BOEM is completing Phase 2 of information gathering on GoM development. Federal lease planning could conclude in 2023. Turbines may start spinning in the GoM by 2028. Other energy companies that have submitted letters expressing interest in developing wind energy in the GoM: Royal Dutch Shell, Texas-based oil company Talos, Enterprize Energy of Singapore, Ocean Wind of Portugal, Total Energies of France, and Conn.-based power company Avangrid, owned by Spain-based Iberdrola. (Source: NOLA.com 01/23/22)