Comments on TommyWonk: Should Delaware Emulate New Jersey?

Bluewater only got as far as it has by deceptive p...

2008-05-16T13:33:00.443-04:00

Bluewater only got as far as it has by deceptive pricing, and now have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Bluewater won the deal with a short-form bid that promised sub-7-cent "stably priced" power. The 7-cent deal became a 10-cent deal when the number of turbines was cut from 220 to 150. Fair enough. Then the fine print showed up.

It turns out that on top of the 10 cents for the electrons themselves, there's another 3 cents to pay to reserve the plant's capacity and for renewable energy credits. On top of that were escalators for construction materials, which they retracted under pressure. And then Bluewater's pricing coup de grace: inflation escaltors, even though only a tiny fraction of their costs inflate! The powerful escalation factors drive the 13-cent power up to 15 cents before the the first electron is generated, and then to 30 cents over the life of the contract! It turns out that "stably priced" meant "exponentially escalating".

Whether Bluewater created all the hidden costs because building offshore is really that expensive or because they were being piggish doesn't really matter. The bottom line is, they aren't willing to give up the rich fine print, which accounts for 2/3 of their total revenue. Now the government, which rushed into the deal based on a low sticker price, is trying to figure a way out without looking bad, while Bluewater stirs the publicity pot in the hope of forcing the deal politically before the general populace learns of and absorbs the fine print.

If the main reason for Delmarva's opposition to th...

2008-05-13T09:31:18.011-04:00

If the main reason for Delmarva's opposition to the Bluewater wind farm is that it will not be getting a piece of the action, then could that be overcome by proposing some sort of a joint venture between Delmarva and Bluewater in which they would split the investment and the revenues? Or perhaps even some sort of a consortium including other investing parties as well. Or has the whole atmosphere surrounding this issue become irreversibly poisoned?

Delmarva too makes out with the Bluewater Deal. J...

2008-05-13T02:25:44.864-04:00

Delmarva too makes out with the Bluewater Deal. Just one point, the REC arrangement alone, gives them enough profit with which to be happy. We all know that Bluewater is willing to give that portion up, because they will get a valid return on their investment only if, the deal goes through.

Delmarva, now having seen how it is done, is trying to bamboozle us to ditch Bluewater Wind and let themselves corner the market themselves. The only problem is that their doing so, does nothing to alleviate our high cost of energy; it does nothing to alleviate the cancer causing pollutants in our atmosphere; and it does not one single thing about global warming.

Bluewater Wind does affect all three categories and does it so much cheaper than any other technological option even dreamed of at this stage.

Those few state senators not supportive of Bluewater Wind, can expect their names to become household jokes in the near future, just as happened to those politicians of the 1800's, who occasionally voted NOT to allow a railroad line come to their town.......

When their town died, they were rightly given the blame.

We can lock in the cost of a portion of the DPL SO...

2008-05-12T21:58:37.120-04:00

We can lock in the cost of a portion of the DPL SOS customer power mix at bargain prices for 25 years. That will get done if there's a PPA (contract). Or we can be irresponsible and pretend the market will bring cheaper coal, natural gas and nuclear power over the next 7 years. Also, people who think Delaware can get offshore wind cheaper from an open bid in a few years don't understand how capital projects of this size are financed. Problem is, some of these folks are your state Senators! Please, call your Senator tomorrow. Ask him or her to vote Yes on HCR38 now. And tell them to read tommywonk!