Offshore Windfarm in Delaware Finds Buyer for Clean Electricity
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 06.24.08
Bluewater Wind announced today that Delmarva Power has agreed to a 25 year contract to purchase up to 200 MW of electricity from Bluewater’s planned windfarm 13 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The project, which is in the initial planning stages, has yet to establish a final capacity, but it is currently expected to be in the 600 MW range. Bluewater estimates that the project will cost $1.6 billion and be able to power 110,000 homes. Under Delaware law, by 2019 Delmarva must show that 20% of its electrical supply comes from renewable sources.
Map of the proposed windfarm site. On Bluewater's website all those red dots link to computerized visualizations of the view from the shore.
"A new era of power generation"
Peter Mandelstam, founder and president of Bluewater Wind was understandably enthusiastic about the news. “By signing this first-ever formal contract in the United States for the sale of pollution-free, stable-priced energy generated from our offshore wind farm, Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power will usher in new era of power generation that benefits from utility-scale power plants located far from our shores.
I don’t know if wind turbines 13 miles from the beach really qualifies as “far from our shores”, but compared to offshore wind developments in Europe the US lags behind so Mandelstam’s enthusiasm is definitely warranted.
Bluewater is currently investigating offshore wind projects in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
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It's nice to see that politicians somewhere are starting to do the right thing by requiring power companies to start using renewable energy rather than just taking their money and looking the other way in the legislature. I think requiring more use of renewable energies will also show how these technologies can succeed and evolve.
Yea for Delaware - now if the rest of the country will wake up. I do wonder about how this will affect ship traffic. I would guess they would put these in an area of very shallow water with minimal ship traffic.
Here here. Offshore wind turbines have been in use in Europe for awhile, but we've yet to see much development in the U.S. Many people seem to object to them because they might be an obstruction, or are perceived as litter. I tended to agree somewhat with the latter concern, as I personally enjoy empty ocean horizons. However I came across an article that mentioned how they can in fact serve as habitat refuges for marine wildlife. All in all, I think offshore wind is an excellent energy source, and I hope success in Delaware can have a ripple effect in encouraging greater investment in this resource.
FINALLY!!!!
I'm from and live in Delaware and this is saga that has been going on for about year or so now!!!
When other states see how successful the early adopter states like deleware are becoming, they too will jump on the bandwagon. Ideally we would see the light earlier than that, but I wouldn't hold my breath. New England, the West Coast, Texas, and the Mid Atlantic states will be first. The Midwest and Old South will only join in when they are really, really sure it needs to (and can) happen.