One crewman died Monday after gale force winds and giant waves damaged a specialized research ship launched in March to study Delaware's offshore wind power resources. ...The ship, dispatched by a New Jersey company working for wind power developer Bluewater Wind LLC, was left adrift and ran aground off Bethany Beach. It ran into trouble on a day when the Coast Guard reported five rescues and a series of distress calls as winds in excess of 50 mph battered the coast. Cangemi said the Coast Guard's Philadelphia office would investigate.

An Atlantic City-based helicopter plucked two crewmen from the RV Russell W. Peterson at about 9:30 a.m. after they reported the ship was being pushed onto a jetty, taking on water and in danger of sinking. Both men were ferried to Peninsula General Medical Center in Salisbury, Md., according to Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher McLaughlin. Their names and condition were not immediately available. The Peterson, a former Gulf Coast oil industry service boat, was christened March 29 and sent to sea to support Bluewater Wind LLC's efforts to build a 150-turbine offshore wind farm in Atlantic waters east of Delaware.

Delmarva Power officials say they will recast recently published newspaper ads against the proposed Bluewater Wind project. The company stands behind the information they contain but will no longer use the headline "Public Notice," which has drawn a complaint to the Public Service Commission (PSC). ...University of Delaware professor Jeremy Firestone filed a draft complaint with the commission, seeking a retraction of the ads and an apology from the company. This week an environmentalist group retaliated against Delmarva Power with radio ads charging that Delmarva Power's campaign against the Bluewater Wind project is using misleading information.

A legislative move to keep Delmarva Power from having its customers foot the bill for the Bluewater wind farm fight fizzled today, at least temporarily. House Concurrent Resolution 50, whose prime sponsor is Rep. John J. Kowalko, D-Newark South, recommends that the Public Service Commission deny any request by Delmarva to pass on the costs to ratepayers. But Kowalko's resolution encountered heavy weather in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, whose chairman, Ocean View Republican Rep. Gerald W. Hocker, blasted it as "one of the most anti-business pieces of legislation I have seen."

Delmarva Power said Wednesday that it has selected six companies with which to negotiate contracts for 460 MW of power from onshore wind farms. Delmarva had 31 offers in response to a solicitation for alternatives to a power purchase agreement with Bluewater Wind, an offshore wind developer. That PPA, tabled in December and still under debate, was the result of a state law that required Delmarva to contract for power produced in the state.

When the Sustainable Energy Utility was formed last year, lawmakers envisioned a small nonprofit that could help Delawareans insulate their homes, buy energy-efficient refrigerators or install solar panels. But the SEU's scope could grow dramatically, thanks to a regional effort to tax polluters. Its coffers could swell by $5 million to $12 million per year, thanks to so-called "carbon taxes." At a time when other agencies are cutting back, the SEU could become a big player in the state's environmental efforts, and influence the debate about whether Delaware needs more power plants or alternatives, such as offshore wind turbines.

As Delaware lawmakers debate the costs of offshore wind as an energy source, the University of Delaware is studying how to use onshore wind to power its Lewes campus. The university already has committed to spending $85,000 on the project and could receive $4 million if Congress approves requests from Sens. Joe Biden and Tom Carper. The senators included the request among millions of dollars in special projects they're seeking in next year's federal budget. ...The University of Delaware maintains its project is not connected to the current debate. There are only a few coastal areas in Delaware where such a project could work, and one is Lewes, Kempton said.

A resolution approving a wind farm off the shore of Rehoboth Beach would pass if voted on by the Senate today, two Democratic and two Republican senators told The News Journal this week. With two months left in the session, the Senate is the last government hurdle for Bluewater Wind's 150-turbine energy project, but Democratic leaders have yet to schedule a vote on the resolution. ...Sen. Thurman Adams said he did not know if a pro-Bluewater majority had formed in the Senate or his caucus. But, he said, "that would be very important, to listen to what the majority of the caucus says." Adams said he is not currently in the Bluewater Wind camp, preferring to reserve judgment until he has more information on costs. "We're still looking at it and seeing what can get worked out, what is best for the consumers." .

It was a busy week in Dover for lobbying and discussing the Bluewater project. This week saw the formal release of the report endorsed last week by the Senate Energy and Transit Committee, in addition to the disclosure of the eight cancer clusters by the Department of Public Health. ... The formal, bound draft was a forceful argument against the Bluewater project ...Unlike the first draft, it implicitly, but does not explicitly, calls for the project's defeat. It suggests a task force to investigate an interstate offshore pilot project with Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. ...It "has the potential" to eliminate more jobs than it creates, instead of the last draft's language that a net job loss "appears almost certain."

A bipartisan group of legislators Thursday unveiled a move to try to keep Delmarva Power from having its customers foot the bill for the Bluewater wind farm fight. House Concurrent Resolution 50, whose prime sponsor is Rep. John J. Kowalko, D-Newark South, recommends that the Public Service Commission deny any request by Delmarva to pass on the costs to ratepayers. "The campaign being waged by Delmarva Power and Bluewater and the expenses of that campaign must be borne by those entities. ...Delmarva spokesman Bill Yingling declined to take a position on the bill.

Bluewater Wind issued a blistering rebuttal to a draft Senate report that calls its offshore wind power contract too expensive and the fruits of a flawed process. Bluewater's rebuttal calls the Senate report an "advocacy piece" that should not receive the deference a "neutral party reporting fairly on the evidence would be afforded." It's time for the government to give Bluewater an answer, the rebuttal says. ...The report, which is advisory and does not require a full Senate vote, says the Public Service Commission and other state agencies did not properly carry out legislative instructions to look for new, in-state sources of generation.

A Senate panel approved a controversial report critical of the Bluewater Wind contract, and the state process that led to it. But the panel removed language urging the rejection of the contract, instead instructing policymakers merely to give "great weight" to the recommendations. This could give Bluewater some wiggle room to continue its efforts to convince senators of the merits of the 25-year contract with Delmarva Power. ...Also on Thursday, the federal Minerals Management Agency designated five states, including the area off Rehoboth Beach, as priority areas for testing offshore technology. That could allow Bluewater to proceed with testing the offshore winds, a step in its plans to construct the wind farm.

Lawmakers gave mixed views on a draft copy of the Senate Energy and Transit Committee's renewable energy hearings report, which has been leaked to some legislators and others. The report recommends Delaware not pursue an offshore wind farm and challenges the Public Service Commission proceedings that led to the proposal. ...Following the tabling of a proposed power purchase agreement between Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power, the Senate Energy and Transit Committee - headed by Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington North - held lengthy hearings to address some of the concerns about the offshore wind farm, including the cost of the power it would generate.

A Senate panel has given its approval to a report critical of the Bluewater Wind project and the state process that led to a proposed 25-year contract with Delmarva Power. But the panel removed language urging the defeat of the contract, instead instructing policymakers to give great weight to the recommendations. The vote of the Senate Energy and Transit Committee was 4-2. ...The new draft of the report has not been released to the public. It is expected to be released Tuesday. Because the report is advisory only, it is not expected to be voted on by the full Senate.

Senate Democratic caucus members discussed the document secretly last week and then called for revisions. But leaked copies circulated throughout the weekend as debate intensified over a stalled proposal that would make Delmarva Power sign a 25-year "must-take" electricity purchase contract with Bluewater Wind LLC. "After a year and a half of proceedings, many factual uncertainties remain and key issues have not been explored to the depth that is warranted when making a $5.6 billion, 25-year commitment," the report said. ...The draft report is based on a series of hearings in February and March to examine Bluewater's proposal, the PSC process and alternative energy options.

The House solidly approved a resolution Thursday demanding approval of a 150-turbine offshore wind park east of Rehoboth Beach. The 25-11 vote was the clearest legislative endorsement so far of the $1.5 billion construction project and came as project supporters lobbied to head off a damaging report that is soon to be released by a Senate committee. ..."I think to send a message forcing a for-profit company, when you're in a time of deregulation [to sign a contract] is completely the wrong thing to do," said Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, who voted against the bill. He warned that some customers would abandon Delmarva, raising the costs of the wind farm for remaining residents.

The House solidly approved a resolution today demanding approval of a 150 turbine offshore wind park east of Rehoboth Beach, while project supporters worked to head off a separate, damaging committee analysis. The 25-11 vote vote sent the measure to an uncertain future in the Senate, where both Democratic and Republican leaders have had more reservations about the project's cost, fairness and effect on Delmarva Power. ...The Senate may decide to give guidance a different way, but the important thing is one of two houses has given guidance to the Controller General to support the contract with Bluewater." Others were less happy. "I think to send a message forcing a for-profit company, when you're in a time of deregulation [to sign a contract] is completely the wrong thing to do," said Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, who voted against the measure. He warned that some customers would abandon Delmarva, raising the costs of the wind farm for remaining residents.

Delaware should kill a 25-year purchase proposal for offshore wind energy, according to a draft report prepared for a legislative committee reviewing the state's energy supply. ... The draft -- written by committee Chairman Harris B. McDowell III, D-Wilmington North -- says that Bluewater Wind's offshore energy venture in Delaware could be jump-started with public aid. However, if approved as is, the report could be the death knell for a state-mandated offshore wind contract between Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power. "Probably the report will determine what will be done" on the wind vote in the Senate, said Senate President Pro Tem Thurman Adams Jr., D-Bridgeville.

Delmarva Power says it won't release the details of its proposed land-based wind power contracts until about June 1. That's about a month before the end of the legislative session. Some House Republicans expressed frustration at Delmarva, saying the electric company promised them cost estimates by next week so they can compare them to the proposed 25-year Bluewater Wind offshore contract. The lawmakers vowed to press on with a vote on the Bluewater matter, as soon as next week.

Bluewater officials showed off the company's million-dollar investment today, chartering a vessel that will head out to sea this week. The vessel will start a 75-day study of bird activity in the area 11.7 miles off Rehoboth Beach, where the company's wind farm would be built. The studies will help determine the possible impact of 150 turbines on avian life. ...Delmarva has contended it doesn't need the power from the wind farm, and that a combination of transmission and conservation can ensure the area's electricity future. The company says offshore wind technology would result in higher rates for its customers. Delmarva also says it can satisfy state renewable power purchase rules by buying less expensive onshore wind power