We’ve had our fair share of comments and coverage of ‘New Hampshire’s” effort to support offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. The lead figure in this comic tragedy is Democrat State Senator David ‘Whale Killer” Watters. He’s all in for New Hampshire, but why? We’re not getting any of the power.
The proposed development is guesstimated to produce 13 GW of power. If history is any guide, it will be much less.
The point of ingress for power is (I am told) New Hampshire, but much like the much-maligned Northern Pass, we bear the burden without much benefit. Nowhere can we find evidence that Granite Staters, whose fishermen are affected by the project, benefit. We’re not getting any Gulf of Maine Wind energy in New Hampshire.
By the way, David ‘Whale Killer’ Watters is trying to cancel today’s trei-state commission meeting. He says they won’t have a quorum, and while he is willing to show up to answer questions, he’d rather cancel. I’m wondering how they ever have a quorum. The list of people on this commission is immense. But we don’t have many meetings left before go time, so this is damn convenient, given all the pushback from the BOEM meeting last week.
At approximately 1:06:00, BOEM says NH has no renewable energy goals but that we will have transmission lines to Seabrook and Schiller stations in Portsmouth.
There’s a lot here, but if the issue matters to you, it is worth sifting. As we’ve noted previously,
The process moves forward without much regard for the unexplained culling of sea life.
I’m no expert. I don’t know if offshore wind is to blame. The whole thing is fishy to me, but I do know that wind is not green, and it will kill sea birds and have some detrimental impacts. If there was a desperate need, we could take time to evaluate the risks further and manage loss because of some higher purpose, but replacing fossil fuels to reduce CO2 emissions is not it. Shutting down cheap, reliable energy for expensive intermittent alternatives is economically irresponsible and will result in real-world harm to people and businesses, including (are you listening, Whale Killer?) minorities.
Even if you believe the warming narratives about CO2, America isn’t the problem. Decarbonizing will only cripple our productivity and performance, hampering economic growth and lending to joblessness and systemic stagflation. India, China, Russia, Africa, and Asia will not leave their people in poverty, and neither wind nor solar, even if they were green and affordable, will ever alleviate that. That’s why they are burning coal, gas, and oil and ramping up capacity.
The sacrifice is literally for nothing, but to progressive resume plumping goofs like Watters, the threat to our lifestyles and sea life is worth it. Look! I got offshore wind! Shower me with accolades.
It’s a cluster and they’d like very much for people to stop commenting unless it is in support. I’m also certain that Whale Killers’ excuse for us not getting any power from this not-green boondoggle is that it will be there when we need it.
In the meantime, we’ll get to enjoy higher electric rates once (or when) the wind hits the New England grid.
