The deal was reached as part of an agreement that allowed NSTAR to merge with Northeast Utilities. Two years ago, Massachusetts regulators approved Cape Wind’s contract to sell 50 percent of its power to National Grid. According to the company, these combined power purchase agreements are sufficient for construction to begin.

The three hearings will be held in Natick, MA, on May 22, Barnstable, MA, on May 23 and Boston on May 30.

Delaware Official Backs Transmission Backbone

Delaware Natural Resourcs Secretary Collin O’Mara said the Atlantic Wind Connection offshore wind transmission backbone could be a boon to the region even without a local offshore wind project, the Wilmington News-Journal reported today.

Bluewater Wind had planned a project off the Delaware coast, but that project was scuttled late last year.

According to the report, O’Mara said the project could bring down electricity rates. He also cautioned, however, that more negotiation was needed with regional grid operator PJM Interconnection.

The project is designed to connect offshore wind projects along the Atlantic seaboard, removing the need for each project to built a separate connection to the grid.

“The first-of-its-kind Atlantic Wind Connection is an encouraging sign of significant industry interest in developing the infrastructure to support offshore wind development,” said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes. “It’s the type of project that will spur innovation that will help us stand-up a clean energy economy to power communities up and down the east coast.”

Hayes announced the project along with BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau. BOEM regulations require the agency to determine if there is any competition for a particular plot or project. If there is none — as in this situation — the permitting process becomes dramatically more streamlined.

“Our next step will be to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing a renewable energy right-of-way grant for this project,” Beaudreau said.

The first phase of the proposed transmission project would run from New York City to Virginia Beach. In a press release, the company applauded the BOEM permitting process.

Last November, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it had received an unsolicited application for a deepwater test project from Norwegian energy giant Statoil. The proposed project would consist of four three-megawatt floating turbines located roughly 12 nautical miles south of Boothbay Harbor in the Gulf of Maine.

Stakeholder reaction at the time of the announcement was mixed, and apparently doubters remain on the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC). According to the Aftenbladet report, Statoil officials recently met with the PUC and determined that support at the state level was insufficient to begin construction on the test project.

However, a Statoil executive interviewed by Aftenbladet seemed optimistic about a 2016 production goal for the test project, as well as floating technology in general in the United States.

“The US is more interested in floating windmills than fixed. Statoil will be making a decision in 2014 should the framework conditions be in place. We are now in the process of conducting environmental studies, we have been in contact with an interest association for local organizations, and we know that local industry in the U.S. has the capacity to deliver,” Ståle Tungesvik, Statoil senior vice president for reserves and business development, told Aftenbladet.

The lack of certainty over Production Tax Credits (PTC) and Investment Tax Credits (ITC) may also be delaying the project. According to the Aftenbladet report, Mr. Tungesvik has been in touch with authorities in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the financial support the project needs to progress.

The announcement comes in advance of a meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial in London on April 25 and 26, which will be co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey.

Floating turbines have been proposed but not yet deployed in the United States. The most notable project is off the coast of Maine. In Europe, meanwhile, a full-scale demonstration project has been deployed off of Norway and one has been scheduled for testing off of Portugal.

Great Lakes Collaborative Looks Toward Floating Turbines

In other floating-turbine-collaboration news, Grand Valley State University and Michigan Technological University, both located in Michigan, are partnering with a Seattle-based business to explore the idea of floating turbines on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University is the lead applicant on a Federal DOE grant application to fund the proposed project. The firm, The Glosten Associates, hopes to collaborate with the universities and other partners to deploy a PelaStar floating tension-leg turbine platform far enough out on one of the Great Lakes so as not to be visible from shore.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is reviewing expressions of interest by eight potential offshore wind developers in leasing sites on the outer continental shelf off Virginia.

These eight companies responded to BOEM’s February 2012 Call for Information and Nominations for Virginia, a formal request for comments and expressions of interest in developing offshore wind facilities in federal waters off Virginia. The eight respondents range from well-established international utilities and major domestic energy players to at least one relatively young startup, showing the broad-based interest in developing Virginia’s offshore wind resources.

BOEM’s Call for Information and Nominations identified an area of federal waters roughly 10 nautical miles by 13 nautical miles, located about 23.5 nautical miles offshore Virginia Beach. In the Call, BOEM asked the public to comment on the area and how its existing and potential uses might be affected by offshore wind development. BOEM also invited potential developers to express interest in leasing part or all of the identified area for developing offshore wind electric generation facilities, with responses due last month.

BOEM has now released some information about the eight companies expressing commercial interest in the area. These entities include:

• Apex Virginia Offshore Wind, LLC: Apex has experience with onshore wind, and recently partnered with global maritime firm Maersk Line, Limited to support the development, financing and construction of utility-scale offshore wind energy facilities in North America. Apex is planning its Hampton Roads project off Virginia, and submitted a formal request for a lease area to BOEM’s predecessor Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation & Enforcement (BOEMRE) in August 2009.
• Arcadia Offshore Virginia, LLC: Arcadia Windpower was founded by Peter Mandelstam in 1997, and developed the first onshore wind project in Montana. Mandelstam went on to found Bluewater Wind, which was sold to NRG Energy Inc. in 2009. Although NRG appears to have put Bluewater’s Delaware offshore wind development on hold, Arcadia’s principals had succeeded in winning a competitive power purchase agreement for the Delaware project.
• Cirrus Wind Energy, Inc. Cirrus may be less well-known than some other applicants, but appears to be the successor to a small-scale wind turbine manufacturer in Nevada. Cirrus expressed interest in three out of the twenty blocks available, whereas other companies generally expressed interest in leasing a larger number of blocks. Nevertheless, Cirrus’ expression of interest puts it at the table with the bigger players.
• Dominion Resources, Inc.: A Dominion subsidiary is the dominant electric utility in Virginia and a major player in U.S. energy markets. Dominion operates generation facilities today (with a portfolio of 28,000 MW in capacity resources) as well as the mainland transmission grid in much of Virginia. As previously noted on the Offshore Wind Wire, Dominion had previously expressed concerns over the cost of offshore wind, but now seems interested in developing one or more projects off Virginia.
• enXco Development Corporation: enXco is a developer of renewable energy projects. enXco’s portfolio includes over 47 renewable energy projects in 15 states, with additional development activity in Mexico, and Canada. enXco is also the largest North American provider of third party O&M for wind turbines. enXco is affiliated with EDF Energie Nouvelles, itself a subsidiary of French utility Électricité de France S.A.
• Fishermen’s Energy, LLC: Fishermen’s Energy describes itself as a “fishermen owned offshore wind company”. Fishermen’s, which shares some of its leadership with vertically-integrated fishing company Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc., is pursuing offshore wind farms off of New Jersey and elsewhere along the East Coast.
• Iberdrola Renewables Inc.: Iberdrola Renewables, LLC is the U.S. division of parent company IBERDROLA, S.A., Spain’s largest energy group and the fourth largest utility company in the world by market cap. IBERDROLA, S.A. employs over 33,000 people in more than 40 countries, and claims to have largest renewable asset base of any company in the world. Iberdrola’s renewables arm now has over 40 projects generating power in the U.S.
• Orisol Energy US, Inc.: Orisol Energy US, Inc. was established in 2009 as a subsidiary of Spanish company Orisol Corporacion Energetica S.A. Orisol itself is a subsidiary of Synergy Industry and Technology, S.A. and Spanish energy giant Repsol Nuevas Energías, S.A., one of the largest energy companies in the world. Orisol and its subsidiaries have over 2,500 MW of wind and solar projects under development in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and the U.S.

BOEM is now reviewing these parties’ submissions. BOEM’s review is broad, including an assessment of whether each applicant’s filing is compete, and whether each applicant is legally, technically, and financially qualified to hold a renewable energy commercial lease on the outer continental shelf. BOEM will also determine whether “competitive interest” exists.

Based on the number of responses, and the fact that most applicants have expressed interest in nearly the entire available field, it seems likely that BOEM will find competitive interest exists for at least some of the blocks. If BOEM reaches that conclusion, it will launch a competitive leasing process among those developers it deems qualified.

Todd J. Griset practices energy law with Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios in Maine. He also writes a blog on offshore wind, renewable energy and policy issues.

The deal is for 27.5 percent of Cape Wind’s output, according to the report.

Initially reluctant, NStar officials agreed to purchase Cape Wind power in exchange for the state’s approval of a proposed merger with Northeast Utilities.

“We know that it will take a diversified approach using all available renewable resources to meet the state’s climate change goals,’’ NStar spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said.

Maryland Rally for Offshore Wind

Maryland activists surrounded the Statehouse and cheered Gov. Martin O’Malley’s call for offshore wind, the Washington Post reported today.

The governor’s offshore wind legislation was approved by the House of Delegates and is now in front of the Senate Finance Committee.

“It’s very, very important that you talk with [lawmakers] and that you ask them to support wind power now,” O’Malley said.

“This agreement among federal agencies and Great Lakes states is a smart, practical way to encourage the development of homegrown energy that will create jobs, power homes and reduce pollution in American communities,” said Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania have signed onto the plan, according to the report.

Maryland Offshore Wind Bill Set To Pass House of Delegates

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s offshore wind legislation is on track for final passage in the state House of Delegates today, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Democrats in the House of Delegates rejected several Republican attempts to weaken the bill, including an amendment that would limit the offshore wind development to one prototype turbine.

The bill still faces a daunting challenge in the Senate, according to the Sun report.

Offshore Wind Wire: The Marine Cadastre was developed by NOAA’s Coastal Services Center and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to improve offshore wind siting. How specifically will it do that?

Brian Smith: When policymakers, states, stakeholders, developers, and other interested parties seek to show where a potential wind development could occur or might conflict with other uses, it is important to know that the data used for that first pass of information is up to date and coming from the originating source.

To address this need for current, authoritative data, section 388 of the Energy Policy Act calls for a comprehensive mapping initiative to assist in decision-making related to alternative energy uses on the Outer Continental Shelf (*read the full description below). By making all the authoritative data available via MarineCadstre.gov, an ever-evolving data viewer and data registry, NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) can give users confidence they are starting with the best available data from which to start building their maps.

Simply making a base map can be time-intensive. By providing the data in one convenient location we are saving GIS experts time they would normally spend making their own maps or searching for data that would have taken hours or days in each case. We give users at differing experience levels and perspectives a number of alternative ways to utilize the data. The data viewer and the many new mash-ups that we have created are also excellent educational tools for the public to learn about the many different uses of our ocean resources that most never see firsthand.

We believe that we have already surpassed our original mandate and are continually adding new data to the registry, viewer, and map gallery. A number of regional map data portals are already using our data services within their systems for regional planning scales. We help them import our data services so that taxpayer dollars used to create this set of tools benefit as many citizens as possible and so the tools do not have to be recreated at added expense.

*The Multipurpose Marine Cadastre, or MMC, was created in response to section 388(b)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which states:

(b) Coordinated OCS Mapping Initiative-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Secretary of Defense, shall establish an interagency comprehensive digital mapping initiative for the outer Continental Shelf to assist in decision making relating to the siting of activities under subsection (p) of section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) (as added by subsection (a)).

(2) USE OF DATA- The mapping initiative shall use, and develop procedures for accessing, data collected before the date on which the mapping initiative is established, to the maximum extent practicable.

(3) INCLUSIONS- Mapping carried out under the mapping initiative shall include an indication of the locations on the outer Continental Shelf of–

(A) Federally-permitted activities;

(B) obstructions to navigation;

(C) submerged cultural resources;

(D) undersea cables;

(E) offshore aquaculture projects; and

(F) any area designated for the purpose of safety, national security, environmental protection, or conservation and management of living marine resources.

OWW: Please tell us about the feedback you’ve received so far.

Smith: The information we get from users helps us develop and prioritize ideas for updates and enhancements to the website.

For example, after a webinar this winter we received a message via our contact link (nos.csc.mmc@noaa.gov) suggesting we include Federal Register notices on our website so people could use them in their evaluation of project sites. These notices include calls and requests for information and nominations BOEM puts out. We acted on this and have since heard from an offshore wind developer who used MarineCadastre.gov to gather information in her preparation of a response to one of the Federal Register notices.

Another method we use is to solicit feedback directly from potential users, which has helped shape our website. In February 2011 our project team held a focus group meeting where we invited about 30 participants from state and federal government agencies responsible for regulating offshore energy issues, private-sector representatives working in the offshore energy industry, and nonprofit groups with an interest in marine resources. We spent a day and a half with this group gathering feedback on how the system worked or didn’t work for them and how it could be enhanced to better meet their needs. The information we collected during that meeting played a huge role in determining the changes we have made to the system over the past year.

While feedback is very important to our project, it’s also one of our biggest challenges because of limitations on how we can solicit information from within the federal government. The value of the information we get when users contact us to ask questions or approach us at conferences can’t be overstated.

We often get compliments on the system’s ease of use and the access it provides to authoritative data, which is very much appreciated. It helps us know we are on the right track. On the other hand, the constructive feedback we get on what types of data and functionality people need is the most valuable to us in setting priorities and shaping future versions of MarineCadastre.gov.

We encourage users to contact us (nos.csc.mmc@noaa.gov) with their questions, data needs, feedback on functionality that we could improve upon or make available in the future, and examples of how they are using the site.

OWW: What was the biggest challenge in developing this tool?

Smith: There were considerable institutional and legal obstacles to overcome in building a marine information system that contains consistent authoritative data for all U.S. waters.

The work started with a small federal work group tasked with creating a modern digital mapping system from hundreds of years of paper documents. When the group first started, the only official Exclusive Economic Zone boundary was the list of the coordinates printed in the Federal Register. Contrast this with the current state of clicking on a Google map with the line drawn accurately in just seconds.

The other major challenge was, and is, data interoperability. As geospatial technology has progressed, so has the need for direct consumption of data on multiple platforms (Web clients, smartphones, desktops, etc.). Because of this, MarineCadastre.gov uses a Web services policy and set of guidelines that encourage the development of Web services (computer to computer streaming of spatial data). This is reducing the data management burden on all data providers while increasing the interoperability and usage of data across multiple platforms.

An agency can now “serve” its data once to multiple organizations that can apply the data to myriad issues. This was demonstrated recently in the Gulf Oil Spill response. MarineCadastre.gov data were easily integrated with other real-time emergency response data to address critical needs.

OWW: What is the next step for the program? Are you planning initiatives to make sure that this is actually used?

Smith: Making sure MarineCadastre.gov is used by folks who are meeting the challenge of offshore energy planning and development is something we put a lot of time and resources into. It’s an ongoing and continuous process that includes multiple approaches.

For example, we work directly with users in BOEM and NOAA to understand their specific needs and continue enhancing the tool to meet these needs. We use a number of outlets to increase awareness of our project, including print materials, presentations at professional meetings, and social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. We monitor Web stats to understand the amount and type of use our site is getting; this revealed a significant increase in traffic as we began using social media. Currently the website is averaging upwards of 10,000 hits a month.

Next steps for the project include continued work on Automated Information System data to help users incorporate vessel traffic patterns into their planning. We currently have 2009 data available and are working on 2010. We are also increasing our direct support to the BOEM state renewable energy task forces by helping those bodies use spatial data from MarineCadastre.gov to inform their decision-making processes.

There are always new data sets to work on as well. We are in the process of making wave and tidal energy resource data available, in addition to updated marine mammal density outputs and new occurrence data for selected bird species.

Finally, we are in discussions with BOEM’s Environmental Studies group on developing a tool that will offer better access to the studies they conduct that are meant to inform the offshore energy planning and development process.

These are just a few examples of things you’ll see on MarineCadastre.gov in the near future as we continue our work to meet the needs of the people who are planning offshore energy projects.

Virginia electric utility Dominion Virginia Power has told the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that it is interested in a lease to site offshore wind energy generation and transmission facilities on the outer continental shelf.  The request represents an apparent shift in Dominion’s position on offshore wind; as recently as a year ago, Dominion announced that it would not include offshore wind in its energy generation mix until that electricity is cost competitive with traditional forms of generation.

What does Dominion’s lease request mean?

In February, BOEM issued its Call for Information and Nominations for Virginia, a formal request for comments and expressions of interest in developing offshore wind facilities in an area of federal waters roughly 10 nautical miles by 13 nautical miles, located about 23.5 nautical miles offshore Virginia Beach.  As reported earlier this week by the Offshore Wind Wire, Dominion has responded to the Call by expressing interest in the entire 113,000 available acres.

Dominion has now expressed interest in the entire Virginia Call area.  Some observers question Dominion’s sincerity, noting that offshore wind does not appear anywhere in Dominion’s Integrated Resource Plan, the company’s detailed 15 year plan to ensure adequate electricity supply for its customers.  Skeptics also note that Dominion’s previously-stated concerns about the cost of producing electricity from offshore wind resources may be at odds with its expression of interest in developing its own offshore wind projects.

Nevertheless, Dominion operates generation facilities today (with a portfolio of 28,000 MW in capacity resources) as well as the mainland transmission grid in much of Virginia.  From this perspective, Dominion may be a credible player in the offshore wind market.  Indeed, while Dominion’s request represents the utility’s most forward step towards developing offshore wind, several recent events have hinted at a future Dominion entry into the offshore wind business.

In September 2011, Dominion won a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to work with partners and find ways to reduce the costs of offshore wind generation.  Under this grant, Dominion is analyzing performance and cost-of-energy estimates of a hypothetical 600 megawatt offshore wind project for a variety of sites on the U.S. Atlantic coastline in water depths up to 60 meters.

Last week, utility analysis firm ABB Power Systems Consulting released a study prepared at Dominion’s request of what transmission upgrades would be needed if offshore wind becomes a reality off Virginia.  That study suggested that each 500-700 megawatts of wind-generated electricity will need its own offshore substation platform, connected to shore by two 230,000 volt lines.  Assuming that about 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity will be developed, ABB recommended four substation platforms connected to two land-based interconnection points.  According to the report, the price tag for each offshore service platform, associated equipment and submarine transmission cables will be about $652 million.

Another sign appeared earlier this month, when Dominion submitted comments to the BOEM asking it not to move forward with a request by Atlantic Grid Holdings for the right to develop the Atlantic Wind Connection offshore transmission system.  In those comments, Dominion noted that BOEM was simultaneously holding its Virginia Call while evaluating the Atlantic Wind Connection request, and that successful respondents to the Call would have certain rights to install their own transmission facilities.  Dominion asked BOEM to hold the Atlantic Wind Connection request pending completion of the Virginia Call process.

Yet another sign manifested last week, when the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club collected over 10,000 signatures from Virginians asking Dominion to make a commitment by 2013 to invest in a utility-scale offshore wind farm.  As noted by the Offshore Wind Wire, proponents asked Dominion to develop its own offshore wind farm or invest in offshore wind through a power purchase agreement.

Given these signs, it may not be surprising that Dominion has expressed interest in developing offshore wind in federal waters off Virginia.  Now that the Call’s deadline has passed, BOEM will process the materials it received in response to the Call.  If any other developers have expressed interest in sites offered through the Call process, BOEM may hold a competitive process to select a developer.

BOEM has already issued its environmental assessment for mid-Atlantic offshore wind leasing, smoothing the regulatory seas for one or more Virginia projects.  Will offshore wind come to Virginia?  What role will Dominion play in its future?

Todd J. Griset practices energy law with Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios in Maine. He also writes a blog on offshore wind, renewable energy and policy issues.

Renewable energy advocates have said the tax credit is crucial to keep the industry moving and to allow the emergence of an offshore wind industry.

The amendment required 60 votes in the Senate. Yesterday it was defeated when the Senate voted 49-49 on the issue. Here is how the Senate voted:

By State: