Three Legislators Talk About Passing HCR 38 And The Future Of The Off-Shore Wind Farm
April 13th, 2008 by Maria EvansRon Williams has a column in today’s News Journal that begins with a small, mysterious blurb about the wind farm proposed for the state of Delaware:
While the future of Bluewater Wind’s proposed offshore turbine park appears dim, don’t write the plan off yet. I’m told there are movements under way that could resuscitate the wind project on a regional basis to include New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and the federal government. That also could cut down considerably on the local expense.       Â
“Dim?” Not necessarily according to three Delaware Representatives who helped get HCR 38, the resolution directing the Controller General to vote in favor of the wind farm on behalf of the House, passed last week by a 22-11 vote.Â
Representative Dick Cathcart (R-Middletown), the House Majority Leader, was quoted slamming Delmarva Power recently for their, shall we say, verbal prowess. I spoke with Mr. Cathcart Friday morning and we talked about how every Sussex County Republican except one voted against the measure, (and, incidentally, those same Sussex County Republicans all voted for House Bill 6, the legislation that gave us the wind farm), and we discussed some legislative possibilities:
“The other option, quite frankly, is that the leadership committee, which is made up of the leadership in both chambers, gets together and there’s a vote of the leadership committee.” ~ House Majority Leader Dick Cathcart (R) AUDIO OF FULL INTERVIEWÂ Â Â
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So who was the one Sussex County Republican who voted in favor of HCR 38? It was 41st District Representative Greg Hastings. His reason for voting in favor of the Resolution will shock you, he basically followed the law:
“If you try to deviate from that piece of legislation, I think that, in my opinion, is when we got off track, and other things became muddied in the mix.” ~ 41st District Representative Greg Hastings (R) AUDIO OF FULL INTERVIEWÂ Â Â
The wind farm would sit 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, and Rehoboth Beach is Representative Pete Schwartzkopf’s District. Schwartzkopf has been a strong supporter of the project and from what I understand, was a persuasive speaker during the HCR 38 discussion on the House floor.
“I will say this, in the six years that I’ve been there, I think it was the best, most open and most informative debate that we’ve ever had.” ~ 14th District Representative Pete Schwartzkopf (D) AUDIO OF FULL INTERVIEWÂ Â Â Â Â
Now the full burden of whether or not the wind farm project goes forward sits directly on the shoulders of the Delaware State Senate.
Click HERE to get in touch with your Senator.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I was there during the floor debate. Rep. Hocker explained his opposition to HCR-38. I don’t agree with his logic. He espoused a dislike of forced contracts and a fear customers would leave DPL like “white on rice.” However, DPL as Schwartzkopf shot back is guaranteed a profit and must enter in to contracts with the approval of the PSC.
As far as folks leaving, today the cost of compliance with onshore wind has contrary to DPL slanted numbers reached $6.70/month 2014-2038. That is assuming there is no better price than the current WGES offer for onshore wind inflated at 2.5% a year. That is already above the PSC’s $6.49 cost estimate for BWW. NO cost reason to move, if the “white on rice” could move, but we know what he meant.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:56 am
[...] out………… in favor of Bluewater Wind by a vote 25 to 11. Almost all of the 11 came from Sussex County, and were Republican……..Looks like no help will be forthcoming from Dave for these [...]