Offshore Wind Wire

BOSTON — Offshore wind projects in New Jersey and Rhode Island are on track to be operational by 2012, developers said Thursday.

The chief executives of Deepwater Wind LLC and Fishermen’s Energy made their predictions at the American Wind Energy Assocation’s offshore wind workshop.  Deepwater Wind is planning a wind farm near Block Island, RI, as the first phase of a planned 130 MW project.  Fishermen’s Energy is developing a 20 MW project three miles off of Atlantic City, NJ.  Fishermen’s is also developing a much larger project in federal waters near New Jersey.

Deepwater has not been able to reach a power purchase agreement with National Grid, but CEO William Moore said he was confident the project would be commissioned in 2012.  Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri also said that an agreement between Deepwater and National Grid was “almost finalized,” although he did not offer any new developments to support that claim.

Fisherman’s Energy CEO Daniel Cohen told the wind workshop that the Atlantic City project was moving ahead on schedule.  In contrast to wind farm debates in the Northeast, a public opinion survey on the Atlantic City project found overwhelming local support.  The survey found 76 percent support for the project and only 7 percent opposition.  The results also showed that only 2 percent of tourists said they were less likely to visit Atlantic City again with a wind farm in place.

The comments came during a panel of chief executives from leading offshore wind developers.  The executives represented projects in Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts — states that are all jockeying to become the first in the nation to host an offshore wind farm.  Cape Wind CEO Jim Gordon bemoaned his latest hurdle, an appeal from the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah to declare Nantucket Sound a historic preservation site and block the wind farm development.  Gordon warned that a ruling for the tribe would have a “chilling effect on offshore wind.”

Moore, the Deepwater CEO, told the audience that he has supported Cape Wind for years.  Moore said still supports Gordon’s bid to develop the first offshore wind farm, “but if you can’t, then we’ll be first.”