Cape Wind, the first offshore wind farm approved in the US, secured a second power purchase agreement (PPA), reaching another milestone toward contruction.
Under a 15-year agreement, NSTAR will buy 27.5% of Cape Wind’s energy and renewable energy credits. In a previous contract, National Grid signed on to buy 50% of the power.
"Taken together, these two PPAs provide Cape Wind with the critical mass to continue securing project financing," says Theodore Roosevelt IV, Managing Director of Barclays and financial advisor to Cape Wind.
Cape Wind’s "benefits include emissions reductions that will help the state meet its greenhouse gas reduction requirements, increased fuel diversity, reductions in the wholesale price of electricity, and a hedge against volatile fossil fuel prices, among others. With more than 75% of its power sold through approved long-term contracts and all of its necessary state and federal permits in hand, Cape Wind can proceed confidently toward its goal of beginning construction in 2013," says Sue Reid, VP and Director of Conservation Law Foundation Massachusetts.
Cape wind developers have been jumping through hoops for years to get this project built and got the final go-ahead to begin construction in 2011. In August, it got yet another greenlight in a ruling that’s expected to be appealed again.
It turns out the decade-long battle has not been about "views and property values", but about powerful, entrenched dirty energy interests trying to prevent the emergence of a significant clean energy industry, led by one of the Koch Bros.
That’s because reports show that Offshore Wind Turbines Can Power Entire East Coast.
Broadwind Wins Tower Sales
In related news, wind component manufacturer Broadwind (Nasdaq: BWEN) received $37 million in orders for towers from two unnamed US wind turbine manufacturers.
"The market for wind towers in the U.S. is coming into balance. Due to the pending expiration of the Production Tax Credit and the wind tower trade case, a number of competitors, both foreign and domestic, have exited the market or repurposed some of their production assets. This has improved the balance between supply and demand.
"In 2011, we at Broadwind committed to broadening our customer base and continued to invest in the North American wind tower market. As a result of these efforts, we are now the second largest tower manufacturer in the U.S. and we are winning new business for 2013 despite the regulatory uncertainty in Washington," says Peter Duprey, CEO.
Broadwind employs 800 people and manufactures in Wisconsin.
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