Awfully sneaky of them to put this out just hours before Obama’s speech. In yet another example of the administration’s defiance following the stunning failure of its pet project Solyndra, the Department of Energy has announced a new plan to spend $43 million over the next five years “to speed technical innovations, lower costs, and shorten the timeline for deploying offshore wind energy systems.”
“The U.S. has an abundant offshore wind resource that remains untapped,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. “Through these awards, the Department of Energy is developing the critical technology and knowledge base necessary to responsibly develop this resource, enhance our energy security, and create new clean energy jobs.”
They just can’t help themselves. At the very least, surely the money will be used to fund legitimately “shovel-ready” projects that will create jobs and grow the economy. Let’s have a look:
Innovative Offshore Wind Plant System Design Studies: Seven projects will receive $3.4 million to develop conceptual designs and assessments of offshore wind plant systems that enhance energy capture, improve performance and reliability, and reduce the cost of energy from integrated wind plant systems.
Offshore Wind Market and Economic Analysis: One project receiving $510,000 will reduce financing costs and increase investor confidence by supporting offshore wind market analysis to inform stakeholder decision-making regarding individual projects, industry issues, and energy policy.
Environmental Risk Reduction: Three projects receiving $5.7 million will work to expedite the permitting process by performing ecological studies and predictive modeling and validating innovative technologies for avian and bat studies.
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Development: One project will receive $350,000 to assess the current domestic supply chain infrastructure and recommend strategies for national manufacturing infrastructure development to support offshore wind deployment.
Transmission Planning and Interconnection Studies: Four projects will receive $2.5 million to study and plan for the integration of offshore wind energy into the electrical transmission and grid interconnection, thereby increasing technical viability of commercial-scale offshore wind integration.
Optimized Infrastructure and Operations: Four projects will receive $1.2 million to support the assessment of ports, vessels, and operations that will be involved with offshore wind energy efforts.
Impact on Electronic Equipment in the Marine Environment: One project will receive $500,000 to evaluate the potential effects of offshore wind energy facilities on electronic navigation, detection, or communication equipment such as airborne radar, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), shipboard radios, and SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging).