Re: Orsted wants out of $300M forfeiture for scrapped NJ offshore wind farms

[Glue this]

On 19 Jun 2023, DeSantis Pedo Clergy <now...@protonmail.com> posted some
news:u6r7nh$2bkhp$2...@dont-email.me:

> Looks like the global warming pie-in-the-sky bullshit is going where
> it should, down the toilet.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Offshore wind power company Orsted is trying to get
out of a $300 million guarantee it agreed to pay New Jersey in the event
it failed to build its first wind farm off the state’s coast.

Last Tuesday, the Danish firm scrapped its Ocean Wind I and II projects
in southern New Jersey, saying the projects were no longer financially
feasible. The company cited supply chain issues, inflation and a failure
to gain enough government tax credits.

The next day, Orsted wrote to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities,
saying it was withdrawing from an agreement it signed with the state
under which it would forfeit the money if it did not build Ocean Wind I.

The company said it was doing so because the board had not taken final
action to approve the agreement.

“The Board has not issued a final approval of the Compliance Filing,”
Orsted wrote in a letter to the utilities board, saying it was
withdrawing from the agreement “due to changed circumstances.”

In an emailed statement Monday, Orsted said, “We withdrew our filings
because we are no longer developing Ocean Wind I and thus are no longer
pursuing the tax incentives related to the project.”

In July, New Jersey approved a tax break that would have allowed Orsted
to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have had to return
to electric ratepayers, had the project been built.

The company said it has transferred $200 million to an escrow account
with the state thus far.

The BPU did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

It was not immediately clear what will happen next. In the agreement,
Orsted and the state agreed not to sue each other over any dispute
unless they tried and failed to resolve it through negotiations.

On the evening that Orsted canceled its two large projects in New
Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, reacted angrily. He said his
administration would hold the company accountable to its cancellation
obligations.

On Monday, a spokeswoman, Alexandra Altman, said Murphy’s administration
“is evaluating Orsted’s recent statements and correspondence, and will
take any and all actions necessary to ensure Orsted honors its
commitment and responsibility to the state.”

The company agreed to put up a $100 million guarantee that it would have
Ocean Wind I built by the end of 2025. It also was obligated to pay an
additional $200 million toward the development of the offshore wind
industry in New Jersey.

Orsted wrote off $4 billion last week, due largely to costs associated
with the cancellation of its two New Jersey projects.

The cancellations added fresh uncertainty to an industry seen by
supporters as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil
fuels, but derided by opponents as inherently unworkable without massive
financial subsidies.

And it is another political headache for Murphy and Democrats a week
before elections for the state Legislature in which opposition to
offshore wind has become an important part of Republican campaigns.

New Jersey still has several other offshore wind projects in various
stages of development, with four new proposals submitted in August
alone. They join the one remaining project of the three originally
approved by the state, Atlantic Shores. That is a project by Shell New
Energies US and EDF Renewables North America.

Atlantic Shores said last week it remains committed to its project,
though it hinted in a statement that it, too, is seeking additional
help.

Wayne Parry reports for The Associated Press.

https://thedailyrecord.com/2023/11/06/orsted-wants-out-of-300m-forfeiture
-for-scrapped-nj-offshore-wind-farms/