DELAWARE OCEAN WIND GETS GO

Delaware energy: Bluewater wins right to take the next step; Offshore wind energy project clears federal hurdle
Aaron Nathans, March 25, 2011 (Delaware Online/Gannett)

"NRG Bluewater Wind has won the exclusive right to negotiate with the federal government to build an offshore wind farm off Delaware, federal officials announced…The decision is the first formal step along a gamut of environmental and permitting reviews that company officials expect will culminate in a landmark renewable-energy project supplying enough power to support at least 54,000 homes.

"Bluewater is planning a wind farm13.2 miles off the Delaware coast, with between 49 large turbines and 150 smaller ones…The decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement [BOEMRE] marks the first time that it has begun lease negotiations with a wind-power developer under new federal rules, and comes nearly three years after Bluewater signed a 25-year supply contract with Delmarva Power."

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"The contract requires the turbines to start producing electricity no later than 2016…[It] helps Bluewater avoid further delays in its effort to gain a lease and permit to start construction…because it won't have to grapple with another developer for the rights to build on the ocean tracts it has chosen [and done environmental and technical studies for]…[T]he decision was [taken as] a vote of confidence in Bluewater's financial and technical ability [- backed by new parent energy giant NRG Energy -] to complete the project…

"Bluewater officials estimated in 2008 that the project would bring 400 to 500 construction jobs to the state, as well as at least 80 ongoing operations and maintenance jobs. A Port of Wilmington official estimated last year that building a regional turbine assembly facility there could result in about 770 jobs during construction, and another 750 operational jobs."

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"…[I]t's difficult to predict when turbines [will] begin spinning. In addition to lease negotiations, Bluewater will need rigorous environmental reviews that will weigh the impact each turbine will have on the ecosystem and human activity…Bluewater expects later this year to build an offshore tower to measure wind speeds and bird migration patterns…

"…Bluewater's planned Mid-Atlantic Wind Park may not be the first offshore wind farm in the nation. A small pilot project in state waters off Atlantic City has a faster path to permitting…And the planned Cape Wind offshore wind farm off Massachusetts already has its construction permit under old federal rules. With offshore wind energy's high price, however, it's struggling…As the first developer to use the new federal rules, Bluewater's Delaware project is blazing a trail that all large U.S. offshore wind farms are expected to follow…"