High interest rates, inflation are closing wind projects
The recent letters in the Cape Gazette pushing for off-shore wind investment seem to have missed some important points in their arguments.
For example, Robert Bryce, longtime and well-respected energy reporter and author, wrote Nov. 18 that, “there are many reasons why the headlong rush to wind and solar energy is terrible policy. First among them: We should be building an electric grid that is weather resilient, not weather dependent. But the most obvious reason why the pursuit of wind and solar energy is a fool’s errand is that those forms of electricity generation require too much land. And no amount of spin will change that fact.”
Arthur Sowers obliquely refers to this in his letter Nov. 17, saying that, “Solar is nice, but in Sussex County, it also needs land (expensive) and permits and low public opposition (it has recently become an uphill battle against pro-farm politics)."
Then, there is the money investment that Kris Ohleth, director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, said in his Nov. 21 letter that in Maryland the project will cost $1.5 billion (that’s $1,500,000,000 million!).
Uncommented upon by these wind advocates is the Nov. 17 Cape Gazette article about the Danish power company Ørsted recently announcing it was stopping its New Jersey wind projects.” The reasons: "…high inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks impacting our long-term capital investments.”
What about the project off the Delaware coast, you ask? Among items to be reviewed Ørsted says are again “supply chain restraints, interest rates and inflation.” So, with the same obstacles that shut down the New Jersey effort, what are the odds that the Delaware project will even be completed?
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
