A multibillion-dollar proposal to supply Delaware with electrical power from offshore windmills would actually increase air pollution within the state, critics say. Because winds don't always blow strongly enough to generate power, windmills would require backup electricity supplies to meet anticipated demand. The pending offshore wind proposal includes a backup natural gas power plant that could also produce power for sale in other states. ...The added pollution and extra cost have led some to question both the wind and the gas plant project. Delmarva and others called last year for conservation and better reliance on regional power supplies to meet future demands, instead of a massive new investment.

An upcoming decision by the Sussex County Board of Adjustment will chart a course for the future of a new county business, and it could also set a precedent for the fate of a readily available alternative energy source. NextGen Energy Inc., an alternative energy company in Millsboro, wants to get into the wind turbine business but has run into a major stumbling block. Under current county regulations, windmills for residential or commercial use on lots of fewer than five acres are not permitted.

"There are a number of us who are concerned about how to put this thing in the proper context, as opposed to just plowing forward with one proposal from one company to do one thing," Keifer said. Too few groups are asking questions about Bluewater's plans, and too many are accepting the company's predictions on faith, he said. "There's a place for wind power, but it's not a question of religion,"...

NRG Energy and Conectiv Energy traded accusations that the other's proposal to back up a wind farm is impractical. The companies are vying to build a natural gas plant to back up Bluewater Wind's proposed offshore wind farm when the wind isn't blowing as hard. The two plants would provide electrical power on a long-term basis to Delmarva Power.

Some lawmakers remain concerned about the price of offshore wind energy, which has not yet been used in this country. Copeland said he was concerned the deal would lock ratepayers into higher bills than if electricity suppliers competed on a regular basis to fill Delmarva's required renewable-energy purchases. He said the public should be able to have its voice heard through their elected representatives. "We ought to let private investors compete against one another to get us the best price point and price stability. I think the marketplace would do that better than some regulatory regime," Copeland said. He said he wants to make sure low-income residents can afford wind power.

Word of the ownership change arrived as the Public Service Commission was slogging through Bluewater's proposal for a more than $1.6 billion, 450-megawatt project that would supply Delmarva Power under a long-term contract.

An Australia-based, global energy and investment company has purchased a controlling interest in Bluewater Wind LLC, the company now seeking permission to build 150 wind turbines east of Rehoboth Beach.

Delmarva Power said a proposed 150-turbine wind farm poses extra costs and risks for its customers, setting the stage for a potentially contentious review by state officials who had hoped to move quickly toward a final contract. Although its numbers were similar to those Bluewater Wind released on Thursday, Delmarva said there were many areas where the two companies had not reached agreement, including the start date, as well as the amount of energy provided in any given hour. The terms were included in a document Delmarva released Friday.

Bluewater Wind will build 150 energy-producing turbines off the coast of Rehoboth Beach by about 2014 at an estimated cost of $1.6 billion, according to a statement released this afternoon by Bluewater. ...Bluewater spokesman Jim Lanard put it more bluntly: "Our biggest concern is that Delmarva has a secret black box they may use to try to blow up the process." Delmarva would pay 10.59 cents per kilowatt hour for the wind energy, McGonigle wrote. That's 1.05 cents higher than Bluewater's original bid.

Friday is the deadline for Delmarva Power to release details of agreements with three power companies to provide stable-priced electricity for the next 25 years. Homeowners, environmentalists and state officials are awaiting data to see if the wind farm will offer a competitive price, as well as whether the wind farm will be big enough to make a sizable contribution to the state's electricity supply. ...

... Delmarva, unhappy it is being forced to buy power in the first place, hopes to minimize the amount of energy its buys on a long-term basis. The power company is concerned about the cost of wind power and has long contended it wants to protect its customers from having to pay for excess energy. In May, the Public Service Commission and three other state agencies ordered Delmarva to negotiate with Bluewater Wind for a 200-300 megawatt offshore wind farm.

Critics have said the wind farm plan would include heavy up-front costs for building the turbines and installing them at sea. But Jim Lanard, spokesman for Bluewater Wind, said wind power will end up being less expensive than traditional fossil fuels once the government begins taxing emissions.

After Delawareans were faced with increases up to 60 percent on their electric bills last year, legislators decided to start a process to broaden the scope and availability of energy. They issued a request for proposals, which were reviewed by the Public Service Commission (PSC), Delmarva Power, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and other state agencies. The proposals they received included an offshore wind farm, a natural gas plant and a coal-fired power plant.

Delmarva Power will have until Sept. 14 to come to an agreement to buy power from a proposed wind farm and a backup natural gas plant. That's an extension from the original 60-day deadline that expired late last month.

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Multiple reports and studies, especially those published in the last year, suggest the United States, specifically the East Coast, has great potential for offshore wind. The politicized debate over whether to develop wind power offshore has dragged on since the late 1990s, when the first project was proposed in Cape Cod, Mass., off the Nantucket Sound. Since then there have been several other proposals, none of which has been completely approved.

Legislators in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic passed a number of bills applying to the electric power industry, with several states committing to emissions reductions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and other states making broad organizational changes to their regulatory processes.

DOVER -- Four state agencies rebuffed Conectiv Energy's request to submit an offshore wind farm proposal to compete with Bluewater Wind. At Tuesday's Public Service Commission meeting, Conectiv officials argued they would have submitted a proposal for a wind farm earlier if they had known that state officials were seriously thinking about commissioning one. Instead, they proposed a natural gas plant. But members of the commission, and other state agencies, collectively said Conectiv's overture came too late. Bluewater Wind is already in negotiations with Delmarva Power for a long-term power purchase agreement.

The shallow water just miles from the Rehoboth Beach shoreline could be the site of the country's first offshore wind farm -- but it will not be the only one, as similar projects are racing forward in Massachusetts and New York, experts say.

NRG Energy says it has no interest in building a wind farm off the Delaware coast. It is, however, interested in building a natural gas plant to back up that wind farm, and wants the state to insist that plant be built in Sussex County.

WASHINGTON - The House rejected a resolution Wednesday that would block government plans to spur construction of major new power lines in many states regardless of local opposition. The issue has been contentious in parts of the East Coast and in the Southwest, where two high priority transmission corridors for power lines were proposed. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned colleagues that unwanted power lines could come to their district.