Offshore Windfarm in Delaware Finds Buyer for Clean Electricity
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 06.24.08
Bluewater Wind announced today that Delmarva Power has agreed to a 25 year contract to purchase up to 200 MW of electricity from Bluewater’s planned windfarm 13 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The project, which is in the initial planning stages, has yet to establish a final capacity, but it is currently expected to be in the 600 MW range. Bluewater estimates that the project will cost $1.6 billion and be able to power 110,000 homes. Under Delaware law, by 2019 Delmarva must show that 20% of its electrical supply comes from renewable sources.
Map of the proposed windfarm site. On Bluewater's website all those red dots link to computerized visualizations of the view from the shore.
"A new era of power generation"
Peter Mandelstam, founder and president of Bluewater Wind was understandably enthusiastic about the news. “By signing this first-ever formal contract in the United States for the sale of pollution-free, stable-priced energy generated from our offshore wind farm, Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power will usher in new era of power generation that benefits from utility-scale power plants located far from our shores.
I don’t know if wind turbines 13 miles from the beach really qualifies as “far from our shores”, but compared to offshore wind developments in Europe the US lags behind so Mandelstam’s enthusiasm is definitely warranted.
Bluewater is currently investigating offshore wind projects in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
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