Per a recent report, on June 15, 2021, Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management waived the customary financial assurance for decommissioning on the lease of the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.
Vineyard first asked for a deferment in 2017 and was denied by the Trump administration, but the Biden BOEM informed Vineyard the fee was deferred for 15 years into its 20-year lease.
Well, the financial assurance fees were "Unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income." Besides, Vineyard used "Proven wind turbine technology," and "Guaranteed electricity sales prices that, coupled with the consistent supply of wind energy, ensure a predictable income over the life of the Project."
A June 2023 Barrons report said of wind energy, "Financially, the industry is teetering, with a parade of companies planning to renegotiate or pull out of contracts, jeopardizing plans for projects that were expected to provide electricity for millions of homes." What's more, "At least eight multinational companies in three states have quietly started to back out of wind contracts, or ask to renegotiate deals in ways that will pass more costs to consumers."
Politico's E&E News says it "Would also protect some of the biggest drillers in the country from cleaning up abandoned wells when smaller firms go bust." In many cases, the Chevrons and Shells did the initial drilling and then sold their lease rights to smaller companies.
According to agency documents FGI obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, one of the reasons the BOEM proposal falls so heavily on small independent companies is because Big Oil had a seat at the table when BOEM was dreaming it up.
Perhaps in the hope the crocodile would eat the biggest bites last, the huge oil companies fed their smaller competitors to the Biden Administration and its appetite for shutting down domestic fossil fuel production where and when it can.
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