Offshore wind may power Delaware
"We know that the onshore wind resource is really pretty poor, we know that the offshore wind resource is really much better," said Phil Cherry, energy program administrator for the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Delmarva's 59 percent rate increase last year spurred action by the state to prevent further increases.
"It's very appealing from an environmental point of view," Cherry said. "The problem is could you afford to build it in Delaware, and if you could afford it, would the public be accepting of these things off the shore of Delaware?"
According to legislation Delmarva must get 400 megawatts from instate suppliers. Three energy companies, NRG, Conectiv, and BluewaterWind, entered bids for a long-term contract with Delmarva Power.
NRG, a New Jersey company, proposed building a coal gasification plant, Conectiv Energy in Delaware proposed a 300-watt power plant or a 180-watt plant in the state, and the New Jersey based BluewaterWind proposed installing offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean off the Delaware coast or in the Delaware Bay.
"We'll hope that we are one of the bidders selected for more detailed analysis," said Jim Lanard, Bluewater spokesman.
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FREDERICTON - An effort to fix NB Power's struggling finances that is supposed to involve a look at "all options" will not include a review of the policy that requires the utility to subsidize electricity prices for six New Brunswick pulp and paper mills, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development.
The program is meant "to enable New Brunswick's pulp and paper companies have access to competitive priced electricity," said the department's communications officer Nick Brown in an email Monday
"Keeping our large industries competitive with other Canadian jurisdictions is important," he wrote, knocking down the idea the subsidy…
