Renewable Energy Failures Mount Massachusetts

 Renewable Energy Failures Mount Massachusetts    

"Hey ! your going the wrong way." Remember Governor Patrick wanted the Massachusetts taxpayers to build the 91 million dollar "ship to no where" in 2010.

Governor Patrick proposed a specialized "jack up" vessel for installing offshore wind farms.  

Where are the ships to install offshore wind turbines in the United States ? At one time or another we've all heard people say when you get on an elevator: "Hey ! your going the wrong way." So where is the first US ocean wind turbine ship ? 

Who exactly is determining the direction of spending hundreds of millions of Massachusetts taxpayer dollars on ocean wind turbine projects ?   

Should Massachusetts have built the 91 million dollar jack up ship or spent 200 million on an ocean wind turbine port in New Bedford ? Cape Wind just signed a lease with Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

Taxpayers need answers on how hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on renewable energy projects and why has the state of Massachusetts gone into the wind turbine port business ?

There is the possibility that Weeks Marine’s shipyard in Camden, New Jersey may have the first US flagged ocean wind turbine ship complete with crane service on board. When completed it would be the one and only US flagged ship capable of installing ocean wind turbines. The ship could travel to and from each ocean wind turbine port under the Jones Act.

There are no news media reports. The news media only reports press releases from the State of Massachusetts.

In order to install 440 foot 3.6 megawatt ocean wind turbines you need a giant ship over 500 feet long costing as much as the entire cost of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal in Massachusetts.  

An ocean wind turbine can weigh up to 200 tons including the foundation. Technically under the Jones Act these wind turbines are also a docking area and each ocean wind turbine could very well be considered a port just like New Bedford.

Most of the large ocean installation ships are flagged in Europe. 

The legal question comes up over where is the US flagged ship to travel between ports ? Considering each wind turbine is actually a US port.  

In Massachusetts the state political leaders are busy building an ocean wind turbine port in New Bedford but do they really need it ? Would they have been better building a ship ? Cape Wind has already signed a lease with Quonset Point, Rhode Island.  

The New Bedford construction project has cost over runs and now needs to move an AM radio antenna to another site holding up 4 acres of the project.  

The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal started out announced by Governor Patrick at 35 million dollars in 2010. Today six months before the completion deadline it's estimated to cost taxpayers 100 million dollars. Massachusetts state projects like the Big Dig usually run 6 times the original cost which would put the New Bedford project near 200 million when complete.  

Where are the answers ?  

October 2010 Governor Patrick & the 91 million dollar taxpayer ship to build ocean wind turbines.

Click to read :    http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2010/10/bowles_91m_plan_not_cape_wind