Maryland Buys Power from Bluewater Wind

Not long after the governors of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia announced an agreement to work together to promote offshore wind, we have seen Maryland take a meaningful step in that direction. The Maryland Energy Administration has announced the purchase of renewable energy from four sources, including 55 megawatts from Bluewater Wind:

The University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents and the Department of General Services recently approved the award of four renewable energy projects which will produce over 20 percent of the institutions and state agencies annual electric needs. The contracts will also further the State’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint 25 percent by 2020.
The awards will be made to US WindForce for a 55 MW on-shore wind energy project, Constellation for a 13 MW solar project in Central Maryland, and BlueWater Wind for up to 55 MW of wind energy as an extension to the proposed Delaware off-shore wind project. A separate award under a small business provision will be made to Synergics for 10 MW as part of its Roth Rock development in Western Maryland.

This purchase increases Bluewater's contracted customer base by about 25 percent.
The Memorandum of Understanding calls for the states to work together to smooth the way for adoption of offshore wind power:

1. The Parties will coordinate potential common electric transmission strategies that recognize the benefits of regional planning and deployment of transmission services and which could reduce cost for the Parties’ ratepayers.
2. The Parties will develop strategies to encourage sustainable market demand for offshore wind power, including state and regional policies and incentives that can be used across state boundaries for the benefit of the industry as a whole.
3. The Parties agree to work collaboratively in fostering federal energy and regulatory policies that further the development and use of offshore wind resources and in communicating our collective concerns to Congress, the Executive Branch, and its various agencies.

Last week, Jack Markell called for the creation of a transmission backbone to overcome grid congestion and deliver offshore wind power to the East Coast.