The Cape Wind-National Grid Contract: A Renewable Energy Windfall or a Money-Sucking Misstep?

Posted by erik devaney

Back in November of 2010, Massachusetts state regulators approved a 15-year contract stipulating that Cape Wind would sell half of the energy it generates with its 130 offshore wind turbines to National Grid. This proposed contract had some groups, specifically the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, crying foul.

In an attempt to raise the contract issue as a ballot question, the President and CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Audra Parker, filed Initiative Petition 11-28. Known colloquially as the “Save Our Sound” petition, 11-28 would have amended the Green Communities Act and prohibited utility companies in Massachusetts from taking on non-competitive, long-term renewable energy contracts. Unfortunately for Save Our Sound supporters, Attorney General Martha Coakley recently rejected the petition as unconstitutional, citing that it “takes private property without permission.”

So what’s the big deal with allowing Cape Wind to sell half of its energy to National Grid for 15 years? According to House Minority Leader, Representative Bradley H. Jones, Jr., the proposed Cape Wind/National Grid contract would force local residents and businesses to pay more for their energy.

“At around 19.4¢/kWh in the first year alone, this contract will increase the electric bill of, for example, a small pizza shop by about $300,” Jones told me in a recent interview. “However, this cost will continue to increase by 3.5% annually over the contract’s 15 year term. There are clearly lower cost options available to ratepayers.”

Cape Wind Communications Director, Mark Rodgers, concedes that the contract will increase local energy costs. However, he contends that opponents of the contract are embellishing figures.

“The DPU [Department of Public Utilities] calculated the bill increase from Cape Wind as 1 ½% for a residential customers and 2% for commercial customers… that would be in the $1.25 to $1.50 per month range for a typical residential customer,” Rodgers told me in a recent interview. “This is very important to keep in perspective because opponents usually try to leave the impression that electric bills will double (I’ve even heard them say triple).”

When I asked both Rodgers and Jones whether there were political motivations underlying the contract proposal, I received two very different responses. According to Rodgers, the argument that politics are behind the contract “lacks any foundation.” According to Jones, “It appears that Cape Wind has been a part of the Patrick Administration’s renewable energy agenda from the beginning, regardless of the cost to consumers.”

Related posts:

1. Boston-based Renewable Energy Co. Making Headway In The Bay State With Its Underwater Turbine
2. Beverly Conservation Commission Faces Off against National Grid in Site Cleanup
3. New England Wind Wars: Two Companies Make Plans For Wind Farms Off Massachusetts/Rhode Island Coast
4. Mass. Calls for Improved Clean Energy Connections
5. Police Emphasize Cape Cod Bridges Still Open

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