Offshore Wind Wire

Delmarva Power granted NRG Bluewater Wind a three-month extension for today’s deadline to withdraw from an offshore wind power purchase agreement, Delaware Online reported today.

Three years ago, Delmarva and Bluewater signed a power purchase agreement for the offshore wind project near Delaware. According to the original deal, Bluewater could withdraw from the agreement by today and reclaim $4 million of a $6 million security deposit. Under the new agreement, if Bluewater withdraws from the agreement after Sept. 23 it will forfeit $2.75 million and if it withdraws after Jan. 1, 2013, it will lose the remaining $1.25 million.

“This agreement recognizes the significant challenges that NRG-Bluewater Wind faces,” Bluewater President Peter Mandelstam said. “We’re going to work very hard in that three-month period to make progress.”

NJ Schedules Stakeholder Meetings To Discuss Offshore Wind Financing

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has scheduled three stakeholder meetings to discuss renewable energy credits that will be used to support offshore wind development in the state, NJ Spotlight reported yesterday.

The meetings are planned for July and August. Industry observers expect the program will resemble the state’s successful solar energy credit system. Some environmentalists criticized the stakeholder meeting process for potentially delaying the actual development of offshore wind projects.

“We’ve had so many delays at the federal level we can’t afford any new delays at the state level,” said Matt Elliott, a clean energy advocate for Environment New Jersey.

“In this case, the stakeholder prices are being used to avoid the government doing its job and actually getting a program developed,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

BOEMRE Offshore Wind Planning Could Be Model

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement’s Smart from the Start program could serve as a model for the National Ocean Council’s marine spatial planning efforts, Greenwire reported.