USA: Foes to Kill USD 300 Million Nstar, Cape Wind Deal

Cape Wind supporters and opponents testified about an approximately $300 million worth deal Boston utility Nstar has reached with the wind-power provider Cape Wind, yesterday at a state Department of Public Utilities hearing, reported Boston Herald.

“We believe Cape Wind will turn into a big boondoggle for ratepayers,” said Robert Rio of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a trade group that is has been arguing against the deal.

Nstar reached a decision last month to buy power for 15 years from Cape Wind, which is planning to construct offshore wind turbines in Nantucket Sound.

AIM has estimated that Cape Wind will ask for a charge fee of about 25 cents per kilowatt hour what exceeds the roughly 4.5 cents that conventional electricity costs. Rio stressed that even power originating from land-based wind farms only costs about 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

[mappress]

Offshore Nieuws  Staff, March 22, 2012; Image: capewind