Wind Power News: Delaware
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Update: Lewes resident seeks to halt turbine
Lewes — A Lewes resident is seeking to halt the wind turbine near the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment campus in Lewes. In a federal lawsuit filed Jan. 9 Jerry Lechliter alleges the wind turbine was built on open space lands in violation of law. The action states defendants obtained permits for the wind turbine based on misrepresentations and seeks injunctive relief and damages. Lechliter filed the suit against the University of Delaware, Department of Natural . . .
UD wind turbine generates federal suit; Lewes resident seeks damages, jury trial
Lewes — A lawsuit has been filed seeking injunctive relief and damages in connection with construction of the University of Delaware’s wind turbine near the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment campus in Lewes. The lawsuit alleges the wind turbine was built on open space lands in violation of law. The action states defendants obtained permits for the wind turbine based on misrepresentations. Lewes resident Jerry Lechliter filed the action against the University of Delaware, Delaware Department of Natural Resources . . .
Bluewater terminates Delmarva contract; Effort to find buyer runs out of time
A two-week scramble ended without a buyer for Bluewater Wind, and as promised, NRG Energy terminated its landmark offshore wind power contract with Delmarva Power on Tuesday. The hard-won 2008 power purchase agreement, the first for offshore wind in the United States, was considered an essential ingredient in building a wind farm off the coast of Delaware. Tuesday was the final day under the contract for Bluewater to exercise an escape clause without forfeiting a $4 million security deposit. Officials . . .
Time ticking on offshore wind farm; Deadline nears for NRG to find Bluewater buyer
The clock is running down on Bluewater Wind’s search for a buyer. NRG Energy, the offshore wind developer’s owner, has until Tuesday to find a buyer for Bluewater. That’s the deadline for the company to forfeit a $4 million security deposit to Delmarva Power or terminate its 25-year contract for offshore wind power. NRG reported two weeks ago its intention to terminate the contract if a buyer does not come forward because of problems gaining financing for the project, with . . .
New owner sought for Bluewater wind farm
Time has nearly run out for the future of a wind project off the Delaware coast. NRG Energy has put all of its offshore wind projects on hold including Bluewater Wind’s proposal to build up to 120 wind turbines off Rehoboth Beach once expected to produce about 200 megawatts of power annually for Delmarva’s grid. “We’ve actively suspended development,” said Peter Mandelstam, president of Bluewater Wind. NRG is actively seeking a company to acquire Bluewater, he said. European and American . . .
Bluewater failure highlights US offshore wind problems
The proposed Bluewater wind farm off the coast of Delaware is facing an uncertain future, one that could reflect broader impacts for the still-emerging US offshore wind industry. The proposed wind farm off the coast of Delaware received a near-fatal blow this week when developer NRG Bluewater Wind said it would withdraw from a power purchase agreement with local utility Delmarva Power that would have given the wind farm a market for 200 MW of its output. NRG said it . . .
Bluewater: What went wrong?
When the public rallied behind the Bluewater Wind offshore project four years ago, the drama played out against a backdrop of economic prosperity, high — and rising — electricity prices, and no reason to doubt a federal commitment to the price subsidies underpinning the pioneering idea. But today, with almost all of that changed, Bluewater’s owner, NRG Energy, faced the new normal and opted Monday to terminate its hard-fought contract with Delmarva Power, all but scrubbing hopes for a wind . . .
Wind project in jeopardy as NRG drops contract
NRG Energy has announced plans to terminate its Bluewater Wind power-purchase contract with Delmarva Power at the end of this year. Bluewater President Peter Mandelstam said on Monday he holds out hope that a buyer for the offshore wind division would step forward before Dec. 23, the date by which NRG must inform Delmarva if it wishes to end the contract. The contract is widely seen as Bluewater’s most valuable asset, and observers said it would be difficult to build . . .
Delaware River and Bay Authority eyes alternative energy installations for its facilities in New Jersey, Delaware
NEW CASTLE, Del. — With uniquely located facilities encompassing hundreds of acres of land in two states, the Delaware River and Bay Authority is exploring the potential for alternative energy projects that could not only save the authority money, but play a key role in protecting the environment. The green energy initiative is being spearheaded by an ad hoc committee on alternative energy formed earlier this year to explore the possibilities available to the authority, which operates the Delaware Memorial . . .
Utilities group signs deal for wind power; Land-based project is seen as hedge against Bluewater
A group representing Delaware’s municipal electric utilities has signed a long-term deal for land-based wind energy. Patrick McCullar, the group’s president and CEO, said the deal will buffer the utilities against what he called the increasingly unlikely chances the Bluewater Wind project will be built anytime soon. The Delaware Municipal Electric Corp. (DEMEC) signed a deal with Duke Energy Renewables for the entire output of a 69-megawatt wind facility in Lycoming County, Pa., in the north-central part of that state. . . .
