WARWICK – A consultant for the R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers said in testimony filed Tuesday that he stood behind his earlier comments that the price of electricity from a proposed offshore wind farm was on the high end of price ranges for renewable energy projects.
Consultant Richard Hahn told the R.I. Public Utilities Commission that he found “no reason to change” any of his prior conclusions, even after reading wind farm developer Deepwater Wind’s response to his earlier testimony. In that February testimony, Hahn said the power purchase agreement proposed between National Grid and Deepwater was on “the high end” when compared with other renewable energy projects. The PUC is scheduled to start public hearings on the Deepwater project Tuesday, March 9, with the final order scheduled to be handed down April 2.
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Deepwater would charge National Grid 24.4 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2013, the first year of the 20-year contract, and prices would escalate 3.5 percent each year after that. The ultimate retail price paid by customers would be higher.
Hahn added that under the proposed agreement National Grid customers would essentially provide Deepwater a $400 million to $500 million subsidy to complete the project involving eight wind turbines off the coast of Block Island and an electric cable connecting the island to the mainland.
Hahn said it was up to the state to decide whether the investment would lead to economic development gains that could justify the expense.
Hahn also rebuffed assertions by Deepwater that the contract came as a result of a competitive process, noting that Deepwater Wind was the sole bidder for the contract. And he continued to urge the PUC to factor in the cost of transmitting the electricity, essentially the cable costs, while studying the contract, a position Deepwater has fought.
