Wind Power in Delaware
Posted: November 8, 2007
Brothers and Sisters, We would like to take the time to inform you of the Local's position on the proposed wind mill project off the shores of our Delaware Beaches. Although the Local is in support of clean power, this proposal could have long term devastating effects on the residents of Delaware. Below is a letter that we have sent to the public advocate. I urge all of you (if you agree with our position) to have your family, friends, etc. send an email to the public advocate on this matter at public.advocate@state.de.us Your concerns will be heard at the PSC Hearings this Friday. If you like, you can copy our letter and send it as well. Thank you in advance for your support. I am writing this letter to express our concerns around the Off Shore Wind Project being proposed by Blue Water Wind. IBEW Local 1238 represents the 952 hard -working people at Delmarva Power, Mckee Run Power Plant, Delaware City Power Plant and the City of Dover Electric Department. Given our experience in the areas of power generation and distribution, we would like to elaborate on some details that could otherwise be overlooked by the layman. While we have no objection to renewable power and support clean energy, this particular proposal by Blue Water Wind causes us extreme concern. Our position is that the cost and size of this project will have detrimental effects to the residents of the State of Delaware. First, we think that it is essential that everyone understand that the cost of this project (if adopted) would be absorbed by the rate payers of Delaware. This is quite an odd scenario given the fact that the generation of power in our state is deregulated. This means that any company wanting to build a power plant in our state would have to pay for the construction of that plant themselves. That money would then be recovered in the open market sales of electricity. This is the perceived advantage of deregulation. Deregulation of generation is supposed to create a competitive environment with hopes to drive down the cost of power. Well, not so in this plan. We, the rate payers, pay for this plant and are not even guaranteed the power. Blue Water would still have the ability to sell this power on the open market even after we pay for the construction of their plant. Where is the benefit for the Delaware resident? The overall cost of this plan is approximately 1.7 billion dollars above current market prices. For the average customer, that equates out to about $17/month added to your power bill over the next 25 years. This is on top of our regular electric rate increases. Has anyone considered what this would do to Delaware’s ability to attract big business? Big business brings jobs to our state. In a time where the longevity of the GM and Chrysler Auto Plants is in great question and other large employers in our state are cutting jobs, we need to maintain our ability to attract big business. We can’t do that by having the highest electric costs on the east coast or worse yet the country. Large businesses have large power bills and these increases could be enough to keep new business away and cause current businesses to move. Secondly, I would like to discuss the public’s misconception that this project would force any and all coal fired power plants to close in the State of Delaware. This project is in no way related to closing coal fired generating plants in Delaware. The new multi-pollutant restrictions put on power plants in Delaware have already been levied and as long as these plants meet the legal pollution restrictions, they will continue to operate. Nothing in this plan proposes the closing of coal fired generating facilities and leading people to believe so is irresponsible and dishonest. Next, I would like to discuss the process by which this project has been assessed. In short, the RFP was set, three bids were made, and the PSC hired a consultant to assess each bid and render an opinion. That consultant’s opinion was that none of the bids (which included Blue Water) were a viable solution. One would think that after the consultant disclosed his finding, the State would be out looking at alternate technology and resources. There are other wind companies with alternate solutions. It is irresponsible not to evaluate all options. Another concern is the technology involved. In Holland, they categorize wind energy as experimental. It is our belief that we must look into renewable power sources and continue to probe technology for the most affordable and efficient means of providing clean power. This proposal restricts our ability to do so. We would be locked into this plan for 25 years. This would restrict our ability to take advantage of any technological breakthroughs in the field of renewable energy. The responsible answer to this is to diversify our renewable resources and evaluate the performance of each before committing to a project of such magnitude. In closing, we believe that providing clean power and researching all technology in the renewable power field is of great importance. We feel that this can be done through diversification of resources and performance assessments of clean power technology. Adopting a plan such as the Blue Water proposal will limit our options and escalate our costs with little to no value to the electric consumers of our state. We sincerely hope that you take all of these things into consideration before moving forward with a project of this magnitude. Delaware is a great state and our economy is one of the best. Let’s make sure we ensure our success by implementing responsible legislation to assess new technology and continue to provide reliable, affordable power to the people of our fine State.
