Bluewater Wind would like to thank all of the many, many supporters who helped bring Delaware's Offshore Wind Park a big step closer to reality. The four state agencies have directed Delmarva Power to negotiate with Bluewater Wind to develop an agreement under which clean, stable-priced electricity from the wind park will be supplied to Delaware residents.

Per the rules of Public Services Commission, these negotiations are to be confidential. This policy is in the best interest of Delaware ratepayers, as it allows all parties to have a frank discussion about various issues so that cost-effective solutions can be found. Bluewater Wind will of course be honoring this rule, and so our contact with the public, the press, and our supporters will necessarily be more limited during this period than is the norm for Bluewater Wind.

The key terms of this contract, including price, will be made public once the parties have reached agreement, and the entire agreement will be approved by state officials. Once the agreement is in place, the permitting process will begin. We look forward to this process as an opportunity to meet with all stakeholders and provide the information they desire, in as great a detail as possible, about all aspects of the project.

Bluewater Wind’s proposal will provide clean, stable-priced, renewable electricity. Delmarva Power is unwilling to sit down with us to see whether a reasonable contract can be negotiated that is fair to Delaware ratepayers and saves them money. We are highly confident that a contract that is good for Delaware’s citizens, Delmarva, and Bluewater can be agreed to. We just need to get to the table with Delmarva. We're asking Delaware residents who support clean, stable-priced electricity to call on their elected officials to act now, and to not let this opportunity be lost.

Last year, when Delmarva raised its rates by 59 percent, the Legislature took action to require the Public Service Commission to find a long-term, stable-priced clean energy source. Since then, three bidders – including Bluewater Wind – have submitted proposals. The cost to taxpayers so far has been over $1 million, with many millions more spent by the bidders.

Delaying timely action by the PSC is exactly what Delmarva wants. It is clear from the most recent consultant’s report that Delmarva is doing everything it can to protect the profits that come from short term contracts. They defend the status quo and claim that the volatile market will serve all their needs. Delmarva should not be rewarded – and rate payers should not be punished -- for their power company’s business-as-usual stubbornness.

Most importantly, delay is unnecessary. No matter who is selected by the PSC and other State Agencies on May 8th, the process does not stop there. The winning bidder must still negotiate the complex details of the contract, including price and its length – and the PSC will still have to approve that contract.

Doing nothing in response to the proposals will short circuit an important process. That is unwise, unnecessary, and will reward Delmarva while hurting ratepayers. The time to act is now. The cost of delay is too high. Please make your voice heard, and call on Delaware's leaders to act now.

Craig from Wilmington wrote to us: "Please [...] publicly release portions of the Bluewater Wind proposal not currently provided on the Delaware PSC's website for reason of being "confidential", including detailed information describing the variation in available windpower over time. How does Bluewater Wind propose to ensure Delaware has an overall stable supply of power, and what will be the added cost to provide supplemental supply when the wind is not blowing? Although I generally very much like the idea of wind as a source of renewable energy, the portion of Bluewater Wind's proposal that is publicly available does not facilate evaluating Bluewater Wind's proposal for Delaware."

Bluewater Wind has in fact released much of the information Craig asks about, and we assume it will be posted on the PSC website by the time of this posting. The wind park will be generating electricity over 80% of the time. When Delaware needs more electricity than can be provided by the wind park, it would come from the grid in much the same way it comes from those sources now. Joe Kerecman, a vice president of PJM, the regional power grid, has made clear in a recent Salon article that introducing offshore wind won't lead to any unreliability in power supplies.

We tend to forget that no power plant operates all the time. Utilities have been dealing with this fact of life for over 100 years...there is nothing unique about a wind plant in this regard. The "reliability problem" is really not a problem at all, and Bluewater Wind welcomes the opportunity to sit down with Delmarva Power & Light and put these unwarranted concerns to rest.

» Read More

Jim writes: “My question has to do with where and how the transmissions lines will come on shore from the two proposed [Delaware] sites. I would like to see a visualization of this, with the detailed location, rather than a visualization of the turbines, which I may not be able to see at all.”

First, to clarify: Bluewater Wind is proposing to build a project at only one of the two sites (Atlantic North or Atlantic South). These are two different clean energy options for the residents of Delaware to decide upon.

The short answer to Jim’s question is that the transmission lines will be under the seafloor, and under the beach, and so completely invisible and safe…

» Read More

Brandt asked why we aren’t proposing to use 5 megawatt or larger wind turbines, as opposed to the 3 megawatt turbine now planned for the project. Brandt’s logic is right on. In theory, fewer turbines mean fewer towers, foundations, and other hardware costs. And if the hardware costs less, but you generate the same amount of electricity, that means the electricity you generate will cost even less.

But there is more to consider than simply the cost of the hardware. An equally important factor is the reliability of the turbine...

» Read More

Barbara asked about differences between the Delaware Offshore Wind Park proposal and the proposal for a wind park off the Massachusetts coast, called Cape Wind. Barbara wrote that while she is not opposed to the Delaware project, she wondered if concerns raised by the Cape Wind project were addressed in the proposal for Delaware...

» Read More

We want to hear from the residents of Delaware about the Offshore Wind Park proposal, and do everything we can to answer your questions, respond to your concerns, and improve the project with your ideas and input. An on-going dialogue with the community that will be hosting (and benefiting) from the Offshore Wind Park is very important to us. This blog, we hope, will be another venue to hold this dialogue, in addition to our public meetings and other outreach activities.

Thanks for visiting - Please post comments and questions, and check in often. We want to hear from you!