From Jim Lanard, Director of Strategic Planning and Communications for Bluewater Wind:

Bluewater Wind’s offshore wind park is an investment in Delaware’s future by improving Delaware’s environment, providing much needed electric generation reliability and creating hundreds of “green collar” jobs for Delawareans.  While it may be that the out-of-state wind bids Delmarva Power has solicited cost less, they will not provide these same benefits for Delaware.  Replacing Bluewater Wind’s instate wind park with wind generated in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, western Pennsylvania and Maryland will not create jobs for Delaware, will not enhance reliability and will not have the same environmental benefits for Delaware.

For months now, Delmarva Power has promised to reveal out-of-state wind bids by the end of March, but they now say the new release date won’t be before June 1st.  Delmarva has used the ever-lengthening release date as an effective way to prevent a decision from being made. Bluewater Wind offers the following facts to put Delmarva Power’s apples to oranges comparison into proper perspective.

Delmarva Power’s out-of-state wind energy plan will result in: 

• Lost Jobs.  Bluewater Wind’s instate wind park will generate 400 – 500 construction jobs and 80 – 100 operations and maintenance jobs for the life of the 25 year contract.  Delmarva Power’s plan will not generate any jobs for Delaware.

• Lost Economic Hub.  Bluewater Wind will establish Delaware as the economic hub to support the construction of offshore wind parks in the region, if Delaware becomes the first state to approve an offshore wind park.  This economic hub will position Delaware as a national leader in the new clean energy economy attracting other “green collar” jobs — purchasing wind energy from out-of-state will not.
• Lost Teaching and Training Facility.  Bluewater Wind has committed to supporting a teaching and training program in Delaware, to be launched with a $150,000 grant, so that Delaware can be the training center for workers learning how to build, operate and maintain wind parks.
• Lost Environmental Benefits.  Bluewater Wind’s offshore wind park will reduce polluting fossil fuel emissions in the Delmarva Peninsula; out-of-state wind won’t.  The National Renewable Energy Labs reports that, “according to the chief operating officer of the PJM  Regional Transmission Organization, wind energy displaced coal-fired generation about 70% of the time in this power market in 2006.”  In addition, offshore turbine foundations become artificial reefs and will benefit coastal aquatic life.
• Lost reliability.  According to experts hired by the State, the offshore wind park, coupled with the proposed backup facility, will enhance electric reliability in Delaware.  This will help avoid future “brownouts” of the type Delaware endured a few summers ago. Purchasing out-of-state wind energy will not enhance reliability.
• Hidden costs.  Delmarva Power’s out-of-state wind bid allows bidders to enter the PJM grid at any point on the system, which will likely expose ratepayers to transmission risks and higher costs than advertised due to inefficiency.  In addition, the contract Bluewater Wind negotiated with Delmarva Power guarantees liquidated damages and termination fees if Bluewater Wind does not perform its contractual obligations; the RFP for the out-of-state wind bidders does not require these protections.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm and is filed under Business, Delaware, Environment, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.