WCA January 2018

From the Americas

Energy Differing atmospheric conditions over land and sea may presage offshore wind farms that could power the entire earth “Wind is one of the cleanest energy sources available, and the US is sitting next to a gold mine.” Michael Irving of New Atlas was reporting on a new study which found that wind speeds over the oceans could allow offshore turbines to generate far more energy than land-based wind farms. The research, from Carnegie Science and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , makes the very large claim that the North Atlantic, in particular, is potentially able to provide enough energy for all of human civilisation. (“Study Shows North Atlantic Wind Farms Could Power the Whole World,” 10 th October) According to New Atlas the main advantage of setting up wind farms offshore is that wind speeds are higher out there. In theory, those speeds mean that five times as much energy blows around over water than over land. The question is whether or not that would translate to electricity production gains. Ken Caldeira, co-author of the study, framed the query this way: Are the [ocean] winds so fast just because there is nothing out there to slow them down? The Carnegie Science team used computer models to compare the output of existing land-based wind farms in Kansas to huge, theoretical facilities out in the open ocean. The results indicated that turbines in the ocean do not drag down wind speeds as much as those on land; and in some areas they would generate three times as much electricity as their land-based counterparts. “We found that giant ocean-based wind farms are able to tap into the energy of the winds throughout much of the atmosphere, whereas wind farms onshore remain constrained by the near-surface wind resources,” said Anna Possner, co-author of the study.  As rich as the North Atlantic is in wind energy, the Carnegie Science team also found that its productivity would vary by the season. In summer a huge offshore wind farm could in theory be capable of powering the entire United States or Europe. But in winter, reported Mr Irving of New Atlas: “The team says there’s enough energy on offer to meet the needs of the whole world.”  In tapping into wind as an energy source the USA has for decades lagged behind Europe and the UK, which boast the largest offshore wind farms in the world, including the London Array and the Gemini wind farm in the Netherlands. But Mr Irving noted that the USA is catching up. Its first wind facility began operating off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016; and if the Trident Winds project goes ahead in California, it could command the title of world’s largest wind farm.

Trade As President Trump rails against NAFTA, his Canadian and Mexican counterparts pledge support for the pact The leaders of Mexico and Canada present a united front for trade talks with President Donald Trump on the North American Free Trade Agreement, committing to continued trilateral negotiations after American negotiators put forward a contentious proposal for a NAFTA “sunset clause”. The leaders of Mexico and Canada confirmed their solidarity on 12 th October in Mexico City as the fourth round of NAFTA talks continued in Washington. After President Trump mused a day earlier about breaking the pact into bilateral deals, President Enrique Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for it to be preserved and modernised. The USA had proposed the sunset clause just days before so-called rules of origin – which determine how much of a product must come from NAFTA countries to receive the benefits of the pact – were set to commence. As noted by Nacha Cattan and Josh Wingrove of Bloomberg , the rules of origin, particularly for autos, are among the most controversial issues raised by Mr Trump as he aims to repatriate manufacturing jobs from Mexico by rewriting trade rules. The US president has regularly threatened to walk away from NAFTA, which created a trilateral trade bloc among the USA, Canada and Mexico in 1994. (“Trudeau and Peña Nieto Pledge Trade Unity as Trump Threatens NAFTA,” 13 th October) The Bloomberg reporters pointed out that Mr Trump would have to clear several hurdles to actually kill NAFTA, beginning with serving six months’ notice of that intention. He would then likely find himself in a legal and political battle with, among others, the US Congress, which holds sway over trade and – should it wish to oblige Mr Trump – would at the very least need to change or repeal the laws that enacted the pact. Meantime, powerful industries would be pressing to save the deal. Bloomberg observed that if Mr Trump should succeed in pulling the USA out of NAFTA, Canada has a fallback that Mexico does not: the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, a bilateral predecessor to the three-party pact. This would need to be updated and reimplemented, which would likely spur a separate round of negotiations. Mr Trudeau has steadfastly downplayed the significance of that fallback, stressing his preference for modernising and updating NAFTA.  The Canadian leader flew to Mexico City direct from Washington, where – like others before him – he got mixed signals from the American president. Speaking on 11 th October at the White House, Mr Trump said it was possible that an agreement could be reached on NAFTA. Dorothy Fabian – Features Editor

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2018