Delawareans had a tough time with their electricity bills this past winter. Temperatures got so low that we used a lot more electricity than normal. The huge additional use also put us into a high-capacity category, and we had to pay premium prices.
It would have been great if we had the advantage of US Wind’s 1.7 GW of additional power from its offshore wind project. Yes, it’s a Maryland project, but the electrons come ashore in Delaware. Maryland pays for the renewable energy credits, but the power goes onto the grid here in Delaware. With a great increase in electricity supply, there is no longer a trigger that bounces us into high-capacity pricing.
How would that have looked in practice? US Wind experts say their Maryland project would have saved Delmarva Power ratepayers an estimated $43 million in emergency additional capacity in January. US Wind hired a consultant to figure out what the savings would have been for just one hour, 1 to 2 a.m., Jan. 24. At that particular hour, US Wind could have brought 670 MW of power onto the grid. That would have prevented Delmarva Power from having to buy expensive peak energy. This would have been a 40% reduction in power costs. This is just one of 744 hours in January, so the overall savings would have been much greater.
US Wind also agreed to provide our state with 150,000 free RECs annually. That means not only do we get a comfortable supply of electrons, but we also get credit for the electrons that we can use in helping to meet our state renewable portfolio standard.
Even if US Wind didn’t deliver any electricity to the state, the grid improvements it will make will relieve the pinch points in the system, allowing the present electricity supply to flow freely.
There is yet another perk to having a US Wind project: Offshore wind contracts are for the projected life of the turbines, which is about 25 years. This means there will be no wild fluctuations of energy prices that can easily occur now when countries are at war, when there is extreme weather, or when supply and demand are out of balance.
So if you’re one of the many Delawareans who care about saving money on electricity, you’re probably going to want to support US Wind’s Maryland project. Oh yes, and it’s clean energy.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
