Offshore Wind Wire

Massachusetts regulators directed a local utility to rebid three land-based wind contracts but exempted Cape Wind from the decision, the Boston Globe reported.

The Public Utilities Commission said that NStar must allow out-of-state electricity generators to compete for three contracts but Cape Wind — which has a contract with National Grid — was excluded because that agreement was reached in one-on-one negotiations, according to the Globe report.

National Grid agreed to a power purchase agreement with Cape Wind to buy half the wind farm’s output and that deal is being reviewed by the Public Utilities Commission.  Massachusetts had required renewable energy to be purchased from in-state generators.  Earlier this year, wind developer TransCanada had protested that rule and it was eventually lifted.

“The so-called protectionism rule had no effect on our decision to sign up Cape Wind,’’ the Globe quoted National Grid lawyer Ronald Gerwatowski saying.

Legislator Wants NYPA Offshore Wind Bidding Information

New York State Sen. George Maziarz — the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee — has filed a Freedom of Information request for details on Great Lakes offshore wind bids submitted to the New York Power Authority, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported today.

The request from Maziarz  follows a similar one from the Democrat and Chonricle, which has complained that the a response from the NYPA is long overdue.  Maziarz told the paper that he hopes his request forces the NYPA to reveal information about specific bids.

“If they don’t, I’m going to sue them myself. One way or the other, the information’s coming out,” Maziarz was quoted as saying.

Norwegian Company Choosing Site for Floating Turbine Demonstration

Norwegian energy company Statoil AS is deciding between Maine, Norway and two sites in Scotland for the demonstration site of its floating offshore wind turbines, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

The company will decide on a site for its project — known as Hywind — in 2011, according to a company spokesman.