Offshore Wind Wire

By David McGlinchey

The North American Offshore Wind Development Summit, scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington, D.C., will feature updates on the Cape Wind development in Massachusetts and the Deepwater projects in Rhode Island.

Deepwater Wind is also one of the sponsors of the summit, which is being put on by conference organizer Infocast.

Cape Wind is awaiting a ruling from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on whether its proposed 130-turbine project will be allowed over cultural objections from the local Wampanoag Tribe.  Deepwater Wind is waiting for a ruling from the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on its power purchase agreement with National Grid for electricity from a proposed eight-turbine project near Block Island.

Cape Wind Communications Director Mark Rogers is scheduled to speak on Thursday about the Massachusetts project.  Jim Lanard, the managing director of Deepwater Wind, is scheduled to speak on Friday about his company’s work in Rhode Island.

The summit will also feature sessions on federal and state regulatory frameworks, supply chain logistics, transmission cable issues, offshore wind financing and lessons learned from power purchase agreements.