The announcement was made today by Deepwater CEO William Moore and Thomas Mousten, head of Siemens Offshore Wind Americas, during the American Wind Energy Association’s annual offshore wind conference. The company will buy five turbines for the test project, which will be located off of Block Island in Rhode Island.

In a statement released before the announcement, Moore said the turbine “is the future of offshore wind” and “will move the whole industry forward.”

The six-megawatt turbine will be the largest ever developed. By comparison, the turbines that will be used at the proposed Cape Wind project are 3.6 MW.

Moore and Mousten were hesitant to delve into the specifics the turbine or the cost of the Block Island deal. Mousten did say that the turbines would have 120-meter rotor diameter.

The Block Island project had previously been stalled by a lawsuit that challenged the company’s power purchase agreement with National Grid. The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected that challenge last month, and Deepwater officials are now pushing the project forward.

In an interview with Offshore Wind Wire last month, Moore described the Supreme Court decision as “extremely good news for the project.” He said that the company would submit permit applications to federal and state agencies in the first quarter of 2012.

At the press conference today, Moore said that the company is looking to begin construction on the Block Island wind farm in 2013 and begin operations in 2014 or 2015.

Michael McElroy, who is representing Toray Plastics and Polytop Corp. in their appeal of the Block Island power purchase agreement, said that the cost of the project should include the cost of the undersea cable from Block Island to the mainland. The demonstration project is estimated to cost $205 million and the undersea cable would cost another $50 million, according to the Journal report.

“We’d like to be first in the water, but you can’t do it at any cost,” McElroy said.

The Journal reported that a decision is expected in a few weeks.

Michigan Offshore Wind Debate Put On Hold

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration will turn its attention to developing offshore wind regulations in the Fall, the Muskegon Chronicle reported today.

Patricia Birkholz — the director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes — said that Snyder is open to offshore wind development in the state.  As a state senator last year, Birkholz introduced legislation to develop offshore wind regulations. The bill was not voted on.

In October, Maryland-based transmission developer Trans-Elect proposed the 350-mile project, which is known as the Atlantic Wind Connection.  The transmission backbone — designed to allow offshore wind projects to avoid their own cabling to land — would run from northern New Jersey to Norfolk, VA, and would be built about 15 to 20 miles offshore.

When the project was announced, the New York Times quoted FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff saying that the project “looks to me to be one of the most interesting transmission projects that I’ve ever seen walk through the door … It provides a gathering point for offshore wind for multiple projects up and down the coast.”

Scientists Say New Bird Data Will Influence Maine Offshore Wind Sites

Researchers at the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine, said they have discovered significant offshore falcon and owl migration in areas that might be otherwise used for offshore wind farms, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported yesterday.

During a four-week study this fall, the Institute set up several island and coastal-based research stations and documented more than 800 migratory raptors and 253 migratory owls.

“That will be very useful in windpower siting decisions because basically we’re trying to collect information that would be helpful for lawmakers, policymakers, the general public to decide where wind farms should be placed and have some pre-construction information,” said Chris DeSorbo, a wildlife research biologist at the Institute.

Rhode Island Manufacturers Oppose Offshore Wind Contract

The Rhode Island Manufacturers Association filed an amicus brief with the state Supreme Court to support an appeal of the power purchase agreement between Deepwater Wind and utility National Grid, the Providence Journal reported today.

In August, the state’s Public Utilities Commission approved the pricing contract, which calls for National Grid to buy power from Deepwater’s Block Island project at 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour in the first year of operation.  That approval is being appealed by the outgoing attorney general, the Conservation Law Foundation and two manufacturers.

The brief was filed last week but it is not yet clear if it will be accepted as part of the case, according to the Journal report.

The center is collaborating with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Massachusetts and several other schools to advance offshore energy research.  The organization is also working on a National Offshore Renewable Energy Innovation Zone south of Nantucket that would allow new technologies to be tested in ocean conditions.

Rhode Island Hires Attorney to Defend Power Purchase Agreement

The state of Rhode Island has hired an attorney to defend a regulatory decision to approve the power purchase agreement for Deepwater Wind’s proposed wind farm off Block Island, the Providence Journal reported this week.

The case, which is being appealed to the state’s Supreme Court, is scheduled for oral arguments in March.  The state was forced to hire an outside attorney because the attorney general’s office — which usually would represent the state — is one of the parties appealing the regulatory ruling.

The company also recently hired Jeffrey Grybowski, a former chief of staff to Gov. Donald Carcieri, as chief administrative officer and senior vice president for strategy and external affairs, according to the Journal.

The company is planning two wind farms near Rhode Island, including an eight-turbine facility near Block Island that recently received approval from the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

Carcieri applauded the move and said that Deepwater’s plans for the state are “much more than an energy project … this is about creating a new industry in Rhode Island, an industry that puts Rhode Island at the epicenter of the emerging alternative-energy market.”

According to the Providence Journal, Gov. Donald Carcieri praised the decision as “a critical step in our bid to develop the nation’s first offshore wind project,” but state Attorney General Patrick Lynch said he would appeal the decision to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

The approved power purchase agreement calls for National Grid to pay 24.4 cents per kilowatt/hour for the electricity in the first year of the wind farm’s operation.  The Public Utilities Commission rejected a similar deal earlier this year but was directed to revisit the PPA by Carcieri and the Rhode Island legislature.

Deepwater’s next step is to apply for permits from the Coastal Resources Management Council, which regulates development in state waters, the Journal reported.

According to the Providence Business News, Lynch described the project as a “sweetheart deal” for Deepwater.  The Conservation Law Foundation — which opposed the second review of the pricing deal — said that it was also “likely” to appeal the decision.

The Business News reported that the commission rejected a challenge from land-based wind company TransCanada, which claimed the Rhode Island law unfairly excluded out-of-state companies.

MA Gubernatorial Candidate Criticizes Offshore Wind

Charlie Baker, the Republican candidate for Massachusetts governor, sharply criticized offshore wind development last weekend, the Martha’s Vineyard Times reported today.

“It’s a big-bet strategy economically,” Baker said during a panel discussion on Sunday.  “I’m a data guy and a numbers guy, and always have been … and my biggest issue with all the issues associated with offshore wind is, I’ve never been able to figure out how the math works.”

The pressure came as the commission enters its final week of hearing evidence on the pricing deal for an eight-turbine farm off Block Island — a decision is scheduled for Aug. 11.  The agreement calls for electricity to be purchased at 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour in the first year of operations.  A similar deal was struck down by the commission earlier this year, but the Rhode Island legislature essentially directed the regulators to re-examine the agreement.

According to the Journal, some observers believe “the PUC will have no choice but to approve” the project.  During a hearing on Monday, however, Commission Chairman Elia Germani questioned cost estimates for the project and accused Deepwater of being a “shell company” — a charge that Deepwater officials vigorously contested.

Carcieri, House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed also submitted a letter to the commission last Friday in support of the project.  The letter says that Rhode Island has an opportunity to be a national leader in the offshore wind industry, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Block Island Times also reported on Monday’s hearing, in a piece that ranged between reporting and anti-Deepwater opinion.

According to the Times, Deepwater “faced a barrage of skepticism,” including questions from an attorney representing state manufacturers who “persistently questioned Deepwater CEO William Moore to show that the cost and projected profit were understated.”

The deal would lower electric rates on Block Island but raise them on the mainland, the Times reported.

The project must be in water that is at least 300-feet-deep and at least 10 miles from the mainland or any inhabited island, according to Working Waterfront.

The winning developer must also have the ability to eventually build a 100 MW floating wind farm.  The report quoted a state official saying that the Public Utilities Commission is planning to accept proposals for two or three months and intends to have a winning bid in place within one year of the solicitation.

RI Puts Off PPA Dismissal Ruling Until Aug. 11

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission will not rule on a motion to dismiss the proposed Block Island wind farm power purchase agreement until the final day of proceedings on the electricity deal — Aug. 11, according to the Providence Journal.

That motion, put forward by rival power company TransCanada, claims that the Rhode Island unconstitutionally favors in-state renewable energy generation and therefore interferes with interstate commerce, the Journal reported.  TransCanada also claims that it can provide renewable energy less expensively than the 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour that National Grid and Deepwater Wind have agreed to.

An attorney for Deepwater and National Grid was quoted saying that there is no in-state requirement and that TransCanada has misread the statute.

In the latest turn of events surrounding the controversial Block Island wind project in Rhode Island, the state legislature has dropped a plan to bypass the state Public Utilities Commission’s review process for power purchase agreements.  The idea had come under widespread criticism and lawmakers this week removed language from a new piece of legislation that would have effectively neutralized the commission’s review authority.

In March, the PUC rejected a PPA for the Block Island wind farm – between Deepwater Wind and National Grid – over concerns that it was too expensive and not commercially reasonable. In response, legislative leaders proposed Senate Bill 2819, which would have removed the review authority of the PUC and given it to a board made up of four governor-appointed agency heads.

The Block Island project, a demonstration project consisting of 8 wind turbines roughly 3 miles from the coast, has received the consistent and enthusiastic backing of Governor Donald Carcieri and other top political leaders in Rhode Island. Even before the PPA was rejected by the PUC, however, it drew criticism from state business leaders and conservative lawmakers for its high costs and minimal positive impacts on the economy.

On Monday, the drafters of Senate Bill 2819 capitulated to criticism to remove the PUC from the review process and amended the bill to replace the four agency heads with the PUC. However, the “Sub-A” version of the bill, as it is now called, requires the PUC to expand the scope of its review to allow for consideration of the state’s efforts to grow a renewable energy industry. Additionally, the PUC must return its decision on the modified PPA within 45 days of submission.

Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Patrick C. Lynch, attacked the political maneuvering and issued a statement saying the new bill would make the “PUC Deepwater’s rubber stamp for a pre-rigged outcome that will be disastrous for Rhode Island ratepayers and businesses, costing them nearly $400 million above the market price of electricity over the next two decades.”

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission yesterday rejected a proposed offshore wind power purchase agreement between Deepwater Wind and National Grid as being too expensive and not “commercially reasonable.”

Last December, National Grid agreed to buy power from Deepwater’s planned eight-turbine offshore wind project near Block Island for 24.4 cents per kilowatt/hour.  That price was scheduled to rise 3.5 percent each year but was criticized by some as being unrealistically low.  Several experts pointed out that the cost of the cable between Block Island and the mainland would drive the eventual cost of the power purchase agreement even higher.

The agreement was subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Commission.  Commissioners have been hearing testimony for several months on the viability of the agreement.

The Providence Business Journal quoted Commissioner Paul Roberti as saying the decision was a reflection of an unwillingness by electric ratepayers to “pay substantially above-market prices.”

The Block Island project, and the power purchase agreement, had the backing of Governor Donald Carcieri and other Rhode Island political leaders.  An expert hired by the state, however, told the commission that the price was inflated by excessive returns for investors.

“Naturally we’re disappointed,” said National Grid President Tom King. “We negotiated in good faith to fulfill the mandate established by the Rhode Island legislature to jump start wind power as a source of clean, renewable energy for the state. We believe in renewable energy and we will continue to consider other renewable projects.”

National Grid is currently engaged in negotiations with Cape Wind for a power purchase agreement on that proposed 130-turbine offshore wind project in Massachusetts.  Massachusetts Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles told both parties that he expects them to settle on a purchase price lower than the Rhode Island project.