Biden pumps $12 billion into seven wind farms off the US coast

Large wind farms are expected to appear along almost the entire US coast in the coming years. By 2025, the government will host up to seven auctions for locations in the Gulf of Maine, the central Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of New York, Carolina, California and Oregon.

The plans, for which Washington is releasing $12 billion, are a major boost to the country’s wind energy. Currently, the United States has only one offshore wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm, which was completed in 2016 and provides 30 megawatts. The additional parks combined should provide 30 gigawatts by 2030, which is a thousand times more than the Block Island park and enough to power 10 million households. This was announced by Interior Minister Deb Haaland.

By comparison, the UK also aims to produce 40 gigawatts of green energy by 2030, via offshore wind farms. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to make his country a “world leader in clean wind energy” and believes offshore wind power will power “every home in the country in ten years”. China is even targeting 73 gigawatts of wind capacity by the same deadline.

Although US plans for wind farms reduce carbon dioxide₂Cutting emissions by 78 million tons while creating tens of thousands of new jobs, they are already facing resistance from fishermen. They fear that the projects will make it more difficult to catch lobsters. Nature organizations are protesting, too, because the turbines will kill thousands of birds and possibly affect marine life. The government therefore promises to conduct a thorough investigation of the impacts on wildlife, tourism, military activities and commercial services.

Earlier this year, Biden announced his intention to invest hundreds of billions in American infrastructure. The $3,500 billion Rebuild Better Plan includes significant investments in clean, renewable energy sources, such as solar farms and wind turbines, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The final part of the three-stage missile that Biden launched after the election aims to make the United States completely climate neutral by 2050.

The vote on the controversial infrastructure plan has been postponed several times because not all Democrats are on the same page. Sting in the majority required. Biden can get a maximum of three Democratic votes against him in the House of Representatives, not even one in the Senate. Only in that faction in the Senate can there be an important Democratic opponent, Senator Joe Manchin. The former carpet seller from coal-fired West Virginia occasionally protests Republicans, but now he is essentially deciding the fate of Biden’s overall plan.