Agencies give final OK for wind farm (Delaware offshore)

[jpak]

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070523/DW01/70523019/1002/NEWS01

DOVER — Environmentalists exchanged high-fives on Tuesday after four Delaware agencies ordered Delmarva Power to negotiate to buy power from a proposed offshore wind farm -- the first in the United States.

Negotiations begin Thursday between Delmarva and Bluewater Wind to see if they can strike a long-term agreement to harness the wind over the Atlantic Ocean for Delmarva's standard offer service customers.

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Bluewater says its wind farm would provide pollution-free, stably priced electricity for decades. The parties will consider placing scores of wind turbines, perhaps as many as 200, 7.2 miles off Bethany Beach or 12.5 miles off Rehoboth Beach. The turbines would be 406 feet tall, with the top 150 feet being the thin, spinning blades.

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In a sense, Tuesday's decision marks a defeat for NRG, which had proposed building a large coal gasification plant at its Indian River facility. The company advertised it as a cleaner replacement for some of its existing generation units.

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[phantom power]

1. My in-laws live in Bethany.

I look forward to the fishing around those turbine pylons. What a site that will be! Assuming the ocean food-chain is still intact by that time.