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Delaware offshore wind farm facing two-year delay

NRG Bluewater Wind wants to develop a 450MW wind farm 13 miles from the Delaware shore

Public utility Delmarva Power is asking for more time for its partner NRG Bluewater Wind to develop its proposed offshore wind project off Delaware’s Atlantic coast.

It has filed a request with the Delaware Public Service Commission to approve an amended agreement for the Mid-Atlantic Wind Park project, which puts back the guaranteed delivery date by two years.

If approved, Bluewater Wind would have until December 1, 2016 to install and begin operating the wind farm.

The move follows the possibility that the leasing process for Delaware’s offshore wind development rights could become a competitive process, rather than relying on Bluewater as the only interested developer (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

Possible delays to the project could also come from the reorganization of the Minerals Management Service as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement – a watchdog reformed after criticisms that it was too cozy with the oil industry.

However, Bluewater Wind said it still expects to have the wind farm “built and online before 2016?.

“This amendment simply adjusts the timeline for circumstances beyond our control,” explained NRG Bluewater Wind President Peter Mandelstam.

Challenges

NRG Bluewater Wind is proposing to develop a 450-megawatt offshore wind farm about 13 miles from shore.

This could involve 125 turbines, generating enough energy to supply around 100,000 households with electricity.

The original agreement with Delmarva Power was signed on June 23, 2008.

Delmarva, a utility owned by Pepco Holdings, Inc, which serves nearly 500,000 customers in Delaware and Maryland, said it understood the challenges that had to be faced by “leading edge” projects like Bluewater.

Gary Stockbridge, President of Delmarva Power Region, said: “The state has expressed a strong interest in this offshore wind project and we are committed to seeing it come to fruition. To reach that goal, we want to provide NRG Bluewater Wind with the additional time it needs.”