Wind Energy – United States
Denmark’s Ørsted is still ‘committed’ to developing offshore wind farms in the United States despite the company’s cancellation of two projects off the coast of New Jersey, White House senior advisor John Podesta told Reuters on Monday.
Podesta spoke with the company after its shock decision last week, he said in an interview. The discussion underscores the Biden administration’s keen interest in offshore wind to further the nation’s climate change goals by adding zero-emissions power generation.
“Ørsted is moving forward with one of its projects here. I think they remain committed to the U.S. market,” Podesta said, referring to a project in New York.
Ørsted said last week it would cease all development on the New Jersey Ocean Wind projects, triggering anger from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Podesta, who oversees implementation of Biden’s landmark climate-change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, said early project proposals like Ørsted’s were hit with high interest rates and supply chain challenges, making U.S. project development around 25% more expensive than in Europe.
Those costs will come down “over time, as more investment happens,” he said.
“We remain optimistic that at the end of the day it will be a good-news story and we’ll get these projects on track.”
