The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has urged state regulators to consider Deepwater Wind’s application for offshore renewable energy credits for the proposed 120MW Skipjack wind farm.
The state agency was responding to a motion by US Wind to disqualify the Deepwater project, which is located in the Delaware lease area.
Disqualification “would not serve the interests of the state or utility ratepayers,” the agency said in a filing to the Public Service Commission.
The MEA rejected US Wind’s claim that only projects in the Maryland wind energy area are eligible. The agency also said competition is good for the state.
“The preservation of two viable deployment areas can help drive down the cost of offshore renewable energy by harnessing market competition forces,” said the MEA.
US Wind, a subsidiary of Italy-based Renexia, has applied for a 250MW project, the first phase of a planned 750MW wind farm in the Maryland offshore wind lease area.
The commission is expected to select a project for offshore renewable energy credits funding by May.
Federal regulators, meanwhile, have approved and completed the transfer of the 96,400-acre Delaware lease to Deepwater from utility NRG.
Subscribe to reNEWS for exclusive and more in-depth reporting and analysis of US offshore wind
Image: Deepwater Wind
