May, 07 2010, 03:49pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Elliott Negin,Media Director,enegin@ucsusa.org
Long-term Power Purchase Agreement between National Grid and Cape Wind Puts Northeast a Step Closer to Cleaner Energy Production
Statement by John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists
CAMBRIDGE, MA
Massachusetts utility National Grid and owners of Cape Wind, the
nation's first proposed offshore wind project have agreed on a
long-term contract for the utility to buy Cape Wind's electricity. The
agreement would help Cape Wind obtain financing to construct 130
turbines off the Massachusetts coast in Nantucket Sound.
Below is a statement by John Rogers, a senior energy analyst in the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program:
"The landmark Cape Wind project cleared regulatory hurdles last week
by getting the green light from the federal government to move forward.
Today's announcement by National Grid will help Cape Wind surmount the
financial hurdles of building the nation's first offshore wind project.
"The beauty of long-term contracts like the one National Grid will
enter into with Cape Wind is that it enables clean energy project
developers to obtain financing to address their upfront costs.
Long-term contracts also help stabilize electricity prices for utility
customers, along with providing the broad economic and environmental
benefits that renewable energy can bring.
"The consequences of our current energy system have never been so
visible in recent weeks, with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and
the coal mine explosion in West Virginia. Although less dramatically
visible than those devastating events, other consequences of our fossil
fuel use are also serious, including climate change. To get us to a
cleaner, safer energy system, more utilities should follow National
Grid's lead and establish long-term contracts with innovative renewable
energy projects like Cape Wind."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
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