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.
US poised to sell offshore wind leases
A year after designating large swaths of federal water south of Martha’s Vineyard as ideal for offshore wind development, the government is preparing to hold competitive lease sales for plots inside one of those wind energy areas this summer, outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said Tuesday. Lease sales inside the expanse covering roughly 257 square miles — and others inside another plot off the coast of Virginia — will be the first of their kind, Salazar told a . . .
States seeking stricter cap on greenhouse gases
Nine northeastern and mid-Atlantic states agreed Thursday to strengthen existing limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels. The new rules announced by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would lower the cap on carbon dioxide emissions from the current 165 million tons to 91 million tons in 2014 — a 45 percent reduction from 2005 levels. The cap would be lowered an additional 2.5 percent per year from 2015-2020. The RGGI cap-and-trade program is the nation’s . . .
US senators probe Salazar offshore wind lease decison
Two US senators are calling on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to explain his department’s “economic reasoning” in awarding a commercial offshore wind energy lease to a unit of NRG Energy, while continuing to ban oil and gas activity on the Atlantic outer continental shelf. “Our nation’s energy policy must make economic sense for taxpayers and not be manipulated to favor one energy source over another,” says Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican. “I hope we find that the administration’s decisions aren’t . . .
Senators Vitter, Alexander seek revenue analysis of Del. lease
Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today asked the Interior Department to estimate the fiscal trade-offs of leasing waters off the Delaware coast for wind power instead of oil and gas development. In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the senators also asked what the agency plans to charge NRG Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC for generating electricity on a lease it announced late last month (E&ENews PM, Oct. 23) “The administration has a habit of picking energy . . .
Senator questions why federal wind leases follow different rules
BATON ROUGE — If prospectors are allowed to pull energy from above the surface of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, then they should be able to explore below the waterline, too, according to U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La. While the federal government does not allow offshore oil and gas leasing in the OCS, it is allowing lease sales for wind energy. Vitter said all energy production in the Atlantic should be treated equally. He has joined fellow GOP Sen. Lamar . . .
Bluewater Wind granted lease for offshore wind project
U.S. Sens. Tom Carper, Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. John Carney (all D-Del.) hailed this week’s announcement by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar that Bluewater Wind will receive a lease for an offshore wind project on the Outer Continental Shelf off the shores of Southern Delaware. This is the first offshore wind project to be awarded a lease under the “Smart from the Start” wind-energy initiative for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. The announcement came after an . . .
NRG Bluewater wins lease for wind farm off Delaware; Development of the project remains on hold
NRG Bluewater Wind has won a federal lease to place turbines off the coast of Delaware, giving the power generation company what it described as a valuable asset if the wind industry can recover. It is the first lease for an offshore wind farm issued by the Interior Department under new rules governing development of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. But any development of the Bluewater offshore wind farm remains on hold, as it has been since December, when NRG . . .
Still many Lewes turbine questions hanging
When something happens that might tarnish the image of a large organization, its leadership usually acts immediately to control information and to protect its image. The news media has the responsibility to investigate and present an accurate picture to the public. Recent articles about UD’s wind turbine outage omit important essential facts and implications related to credibility, public safety, and liability. The Cape Gazette (CG) 7-27-12 article, “UD wind turbine gets new generator… .,” was positive spin about the outage: . . .
Offshore wind test project planned
There’s a new proposal to build wind turbines off the coast of Delaware, albeit one much smaller than the ambitious and now-defunct Bluewater Wind contract. Researchers at The University of Delaware, together with the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, are proposing a small test project in the Atlantic Ocean, off an unspecified point on the Delaware coast. They are seeking federal funding from an offshore wind program offered by the U.S. Department of Energy. Delaware’s congressional delegation announced the . . .
UD wind turbine spinning again
Lewes — The University of Delaware’s Lewes wind turbine is back on line following repairs to a damaged blade and installation of a new generator that is being field-tested prior to commercial production. Work on the turbine was completed and the unit returned to full service by Aug. 2, said Ron Ohrel, spokesman for University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. In June, one of the turbine’s blades was damaged by lightning, prompting the university and Gamesa Technology . . .
