Biden has pledged that his drive for renewable energy will lead to more manufacturing jobs for Americans. He was reported as saying that, “there is no reason why the blades for these turbines can’t be built in Pittsburgh instead of China. No reason.”
Except, most of the manufacturing will actually actually be done inside Europe.
The Vineyard Wind program, near Massachusetts, is thought to eventually provide the electricity for 400,000 homes by 2023. The windfarm is a partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners along with Avangrid Inc. which is a part of the Iberdrola group.
Wonderful news from our partner @VineyardWindUS! "Today’s Record of Decision is not about the start of a single project, but the launch of a new industry," says Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pederson. Let's get to work on #offshorewind! https://t.co/X1uHHQ1EKJ
— Greentown Labs (@GreentownLabs) May 24, 2021
According to Jonathon Cole, the managing director of Iberdola, some turbine parts will be created locally, but the bigger parts will not.
Insiders say it might take years before new American factories can be built. To do this, developers would need to have a pipeline of ready to go U.S. projects, along with regulatory incentives such as tax breaks.
Christy Guthman, leader of offshore at GE’s renewable energy division, also stated that a factory would be time consuming. It would need permits and lots of space near the coast.
GE is set to supply 62 turbines to Vineyard Wind. However, the largest parts for the turbines, will be made in France.
Biden’s White House has unveiled a plan to install 30 gigawatts of wind power by 2030. That is around the amount that Europe already has.
Experts say that 2,000 turbines will be required to get to that target, but American factories probably won’t be complete until 2024 or 2025.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
