Maryland state legislators are expected to reconsider Gov. Martin O’Malley’s ambitious plan to require utilities to buy offshore wind electricity.

“We’re tired of seeing us lose jobs to China,” said panel member Jim Strong, of the United Steelworkers of Maryland. “We’re supporting this legislation because we think it will put people back to work.”

County Commission Attacks Offshore Wind

Months after the issue was apparently settled, the Oceana (Mich.) County Planning Commission released a report this week denouncing a defunct offshore wind proposal for Lake Michigan, the Muskegon Chronicle reported.

Planning Commission Chairwoman Anne Soles released a press release declaring Scandia Wind’s proposal — abandoned last year — had “major flaws” and was “not feasible.”

Soles is reportedly concerned that Scandia might appeal directly to state regulators.

“We need to put a punctuation point on this issue … not in Lake Michigan,” Soles told the Chronicle.

The bill to form the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Advisory Council was sponsored by two state lawmakers from Evanston, State Rep. Robyn Gabel and Sen. Jeff Schoenberg.

The new council will be led by the state Department of Natural Resources director and has been tasked with finding appropriate sites for offshore wind development. The group will issue a report to Gov. Quinn and the state legislature by June 30, 2012.

Boston Globe Calls On NStar To Buy Cape Wind Electricity

In an editorial published yesterday, the Boston Globe called on state regulators to require the utility NStar to buy electricity from Cape Wind as part of a merger with Northeast Utilities.

National Grid has agreed to buy the first half of the offshore wind farm’s electricity, but Cape Wind is still looking for a buyer for the remainder of its output. NStar has been lobbying for approval of a massive merger with Northeast Utilities.

“The state should not be shy about insisting that the companies provide a full explanation for how they plan to meet the state’s mandatory clean-energy targets – and should make buying power from Cape Wind a condition of approval if the companies can’t come up with any other credible plan,” the Globe editorial read.

The official, senior vice president Mark Leyland, said that he gave a similar presentation in Corpus Christi earlier this month and heard concerns about the impact on birds and the altered views. Leyland said that the company would study the area to assess the bird impact and that there was no reason to assume that large numbers of birds would be killed.

“We need to go out there and put in place proper studies to be able to verify that,” Leyland said. “I’m not going to say it’s not going to happen, but there’s no basis for saying it is going to happen.”

Evanston City Council Votes To Continue Offshore Wind Push

The Evanston, Illinois, city council voted Monday to continue pursuing an offshore wind project in Lake Michigan, the Daily Northwestern reported.

City officials decided, however, that they cannot take immediate decisive action on the project without a state plan in place for offshore wind development, according to the report.

The city will also ask that a representative from Evanston serve on the state offshore wind panel.

That finding was part of a report from the West Michigan Wind Assessment project — a study funded by the Michigan Sea Grant program. The report also concluded that a wind farm six miles offshore would be visible from land about 64 percent of the time — and that any project would need to be built within that distance because the depth of the lake increases rapidly.

“We found there are different expectations and uses of the shoreline, from power plants to recreation to relaxation,” said Erik Nordman, principal investigator of the project and GVSU assistant professor of biology. “This information can help open up a discussion to understand the different values of the Great Lakes and whether offshore wind energy is appropriate.”

The Chronicle reported that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is not expected to address offshore wind issues until later this year, at the earliest.

Offshore Wind Vessel Made Available For US Projects

Massachusetts-based Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has announced that it will produce Incat Crowther’s Catamaran Wind Farm Service Vessel for use in developing US offshore wind projects, MarineLog reported yesterday.

“With about a dozen wind farms being planned along the East Coast and Great Lakes of the United States, we are now in a position to meet the service vessel needs of the construction crews and the technicians who will be working on these projects,” said Gladding-Hearn President Peter Duclos.

The past week has dealt setbacks to plans to develop offshore wind energy resources in the Great Lakes.

While the winds over the Great Lakes hold great potential to provide usable power, state and provincial programs around the lakes are running into delays and snags.

Two years ago, on Earth Day 2009, the New York Power Authority announced the Great Lakes Offshore Wind (GLOW) Project: a competitive process to award power purchase agreements to prospective developers of offshore wind projects in New York’s lake waters.  Last summer, five developers responded to NYPA’s request for proposals.  NYPA has taken since then to evaluate the proposals and select a winner. NYPA initially aimed to do this by January 2011, but then slipped the selection date to late March 2011.

Just last week, Offshore Wind Wire reported that NYPA may still require several months more to evaluate the proposals before it.

Despite this delay, NYPA’s GLOW process is moving forward with more certainty than are other offshore wind programs around the Great Lakes. The Michigan legislature is considering a bill that would place an outright ban on the development of offshore wind projects in Michigan waters. State representative Ray Franz has sponsored House Bill No. 4499, which would modify Michigan law allowing the state Department of Environmental Quality to lease state-held portions of the bottom of the Great Lakes for a variety of purposes, excluding only oil and gas drilling.

If enacted, Representative Franz’s bill would add another category of prohibited purposes for which site leasing is banned: HB 4499 would prohibit the Michigan DEQ from permitting or leasing a site for a broad array of infrastructure associated with wind energy development.  The ban would apply to everything from commercial projects to wind-oriented scientific research facilities, as well as transmission lines or any other infrastructure “related to a wind turbine”.  This would appear to rule out a Michigan landing site for a transmission line from a wind project elsewhere on the lakes, or even such a line crossing Michigan’s extensive lake bottoms.  The bill doesn’t just target offshore wind, but wind in general; thus it might even rule out a more conventional underwater transmission line across Michigan’s lake bottom if the line were deemed “related to a wind turbine” just because electricity from a terrestrial wind project makes the line.

If Michigan bans offshore wind in its waters, it may outdo its northern neighbor. The Canadian province of Ontario developed an ambitious program for the pursuit of its Great Lakes offshore wind potential, only to suspend its efforts in February 2011. Ontario’s stated reasons for suspending the program include some of the usual suspects: concerns over local siting issues, environmental impacts, and fundamental questions over the value of offshore wind in the Province’s energy mix. Some observers also point to political pressures and this fall’s provincial election cycle as playing a part in the province’s about-face. Ontario is formally taking a “wait and see” approach to its offshore wind resources.

While making statements to reassure the public that New York’s Great Lakes offshore wind program is moving forward, NYPA is being relatively tight-lipped about its ongoing evaluation process and the need for more time. It remains to be seen whether NYPA is merely wrestling with the five proposals to select one as the winner, or rather whether NYPA’s repeated delay in announcing a winner represents a change in that authority’s commitment level to offshore wind projects given the current political and economic picture. Developers around the Great Lakes are hoping that NYPA will follow through with its GLOW Project.

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.

Speaking at a recent offshore wind conference in Rochester, Terry Yonker — a Niagara County marine avian consultant and co-chair of the Great Lakes Wind Consortium — said that public opposition to disrupted views was responsible for delaying many other projects.

“I don’t want to give a lot of credit to the opposition, but when you’re dealing with public agencies and political entities, they’ve obviously got their nose out there in the wind,” Yonker said.

The paper said that presentations from the conference could be found at www.law.pace.edu/energy.

Dutch Offshore Wind Experts Share Expertise With DOE

A Dutch offshore wind delegation met with Department of Energy officials last week to share expertise, the Holland Sentinel reported.

The meeting was held at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, according to the report.

In an editorial published today, the Saginaw News criticized recently proposed legislation to ban offshore wind development in the Michigan portion of the Great Lakes.

The Muskegon Chronicle previously published an editorial opposing the bill.

“Republican Reps. Jon Bumstead, of Newaygo and Ray Frantz of Onekama say [offshore wind turbines will] spoil the view from shore, and are not economically feasible … those are an odd couple of arguments from some legislators from the supposedly pro-business GOP,” the Saginaw News editorial read. “The claims shouldn’t hold any water over here near the shores of Saginaw Bay, where offshore wind turbines have been proposed. Let the people in each region of the state decide whether they’ll allow wind turbines offshore … if they feel they are well enough off in parts of Western Michigan to scoff at a billion-dollar industry when it lands in their laps, well good for them.”

Experts Seek Balance In Great Lakes Wind Development

Attendees at an offshore wind conference in Rochester yesterday were told that offshore wind devleopment must strike a balance between producing clean energy and the impact on the local wildlife, the Rochester City Newspaper reported.

Frank Szollosi, a policy analyst from the a National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes field office, said that offshore wind development is an important solution to displace greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the climate change that will impact the Great Lakes and their wildlife.

Szollosi endorsed regional siting standards to avoid development in sensitive areas.

The organizations will research wind patterns on Lake Michigan and will eventually develop advanced wind mapping for the lake, according to the report.

“It’s not only significant for MAREC because it takes advantage of our location and our mission, but it brings on board some significant expertise, and it brings on board an international relationship,” said MAREC Director Arn Boezaart.

Deepwater Wind Deploys Monitoring Buoy Near Block Island

Last month, Deepwater Wind deployed a Sea ZephIR spar buoy west of Block Island to collect data for an eventual offshore wind farm, the Block Island Times reported.

The buoy will collect data on wind speed, direction, sheer, wave height and frequency and bird and bat activity according to the report.

It will eventually be reused for an offshore wind site 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey, which is being jointly developed by Garden State Offshore Energy — a partnership between Deepwater Wind and Public Service Electric and Gas.

Offshore Wind Wire: What is the purpose of the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Council that you are proposing?

Robyn Gabel: The purpose of the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Council is to assist the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in the preparation of a report that will include appropriate criteria for the Department to use to review applications for offshore wind development of Lake Michigan lakebed leases; criteria for identifying areas that are favorable, acceptable and unacceptable for offshore wind development; a process for ensuring public engagement in the Department’s process for leasing Lake Michigan lakebed for offshore wind energy projects and recommendations for needed state legislation and regulations governing offshore wind farm development.

OWW: What challenges does offshore wind development face in Illinois?

Gabel: At this time the challenges are unknown.  Possible challenges may include a high cost for offshore wind development or problems related to its affect on wildlife, protected habitats, navigation, commercial fisheries or recreational uses of Lake Michigan.

OWW: What is the timeline for this legislation?

Gabel: House Bill 1558 has passed the House of Representatives and is now on first reading in the Senate.  Both the Senate sponsor and I plan to have the bill on the Governor’s desk for his signature by May 31, 2011.  The legislation requires that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources submit a report to the General Assembly and the Governor by June 30, 2012.

OWW: Where will this lead?  What is the future for offshore wind in Illinois?

Gabel: The result of this legislation will be a report with information that can be used to develop specific legislation regarding the process for the state to lease Lake Michigan lakebed for the purpose of offshore wind development.  In the fall of 2012, we will be proposing such legislation and hope to have it passed by January 2013.  During this same time period, the Wind Farm Information Review Committee of the city of Evanston, Illinois will be reviewing and evaluating the information proposals submitted by two firms last year regarding offshore wind energy off the coast of Evanston and making recommendations to the Mayor and City Council on potential next steps for the project.

The proposal is stuck in the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, according to the report.

O’Malley has pushed the proposal — to required utilities to buy electricity from offshore wind projects — as an environmental and economic boon.  Several legislators have said that they want to study the issue for another  year.

“A study is always a step in the right direction, but you’ve got to look at the cost of waiting,” said O’Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec. “Were in a race with other states to capitalize on this opportunity. If we delay another year, well lose this race and watch those jobs go by the wayside.”

Federal Regulators Approve Great Lakes Buoy

The Department of Energy approved an offshore wind-assessment buoy project that Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center will deploy on Lake Michigan, the Muskegon Chronicle reported last weekend.

The project received federal approval last Wednesday and MAREC put a down payment the $3.7 million project last Thursday, according to the report. The three-year project is designed to give a better understanding of offshore wind possibilities on Lake Michigan.

“The WindSentinel (buoy) will provide extended season, real-time in-the-water data using the most advanced wind-testing equipment,” said MAREC Director Arn Boezaart.

AXYS Technologies Inc. will provide the buoy for the MAREC project, North American Windpower reported.

Evanston Wind Farm Committee Hears About State Offshore Wind Legislation

Officials in Evanston, Illinois, convened the first meeting of their Wind Farm Committee last week to discuss a potential offshore wind farm near the city, the Evanston Review reported.

State Rep. Robyn Gabel told the committee about proposed legislation that would create a separate Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Council under the Department of Natural Resources.  The council would report to the legislature and the governor by the end of the year, according to the report.

Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl also announced that the city is cooperating with the city of Waukegan to “remove barriers” to offshore wind on Lake Michigan.