Articles Posted in Energy

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The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) just released a report titled “Failure to Act, the Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Electricity Infrastructure” and no, the results are not pretty. According to the report, the gap between the amount actually spent on infrastructure across America and the amount that needs to be spent to maintain the system will reach $107 billion by 2020 and $732 billion by 2040. The Southeast and the Western portions of the country are particularly vulnerable to infrastructure underinvestment, making up approximately half of the country’s infrastructure deficit. Furthermore, don’t forget about the 2003 blackout across large sections of the East Coast, including New York City, that showed the grid’s vulnerability. This report comes on the heels of ASCE giving the United States a grade of “D+” in the Energy category in 2009. D+ seems pretty generous.

The ASCE report predicts that disruption and inconsistent service resulting from faulty electricity infrastructure will lead to a reduction in U.S. GDP of almost $500 billion and half a million fewer jobs in America by 2020. The calculations implicit in this report are simple: if we can spend $100 billion to address this problem over the next decade, the country on the whole will be half a trillion dollars better off. It seems so simple.
However, the crunch of budget deficits at both the federal and state levels means that these profitable long-term investments lose out to short-term cost cutting. President Obama, however, has championed doubling overall infrastructure spending that would also help spur job growth and make up for years of underinvestment, but it is not enough.

Public-Private Partnerships will play an important role in bridging this funding gap by leveraging private investment over the long-term. The private sectors sees this $500 billion in potential savings and the United States needs to think creatively to spur further infrastructure development.

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Earlier this month the Department of Energy announced a 6 year, $180 million initiative to boost the Nation’s wind power capabilities. Starting with $20 million this year, the DOE will spend the money on up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the United States. The DOE says the initiative will help move the U.S. closer to harnessing the estimated 4,000 gigawatts of power that could be generated from wind in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes.

The money will be allocated through a competitive solicitation and will be awarded to a consortia with representatives from developers, equipment suppliers, researchers and marine contractors. Awarded funds can be used to fund up to 80 percent of the project design costs and 50 percent of the installation costs. The deadline for Letters of intent is March 30 and applications are due on May 31, 2012.

For the press release click here. For information and application details, visit The DOE website here.

More after the jump.

The DOE’s program was announced just days after a new obstacle arose to one high-profile offshore project. Dominion Resources Inc., wrote a letter to the Department of the Interior to oppose the creation for a right of way in favor of the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) project. The AWC project would install a power transmission line or backbone from New York to Virginia to which offshore wind farms would connect in order to carry the power to customers on the East coast. We previously reported on the AWC project here.

Dominion’s objection was, in part, based on the concern that by granting the right of way under the current circumstances would unfairly advantage AWC at the expense of other, and perhaps better, transmission projects. In Dominion’s view, the transmission line should follow, not precede the issuance of off-shore wind farm leases.

More information regarding the growing dispute can be read in this Daily Press article. You can find more more information regarding AWC here.

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The Department of the Interior has opened the public comment period for the environmental impacts of the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) project. The project envisions a link between the proposed off shore wind farms in the Atlantic from Virgina to New Jersey and will provide an efficient means of transporting the power they produce to land. The project is backed by Google – so if you’re looking for adverse comments, you might want to search on Yahoo!