From Aaron Nathans of the News Journal…..

NRG/Bluewater Wind got good news on a different front Monday, as the federal government moved one step closer to issuing the developer a lease on a tract off the southern Delaware shore.

The Department of the Interior announced it would open a 30-day public comment period on the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of offshore renewable-energy projects off Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

If the department determines no significant impact off Delaware, it will move forward with Bluewater to sign the lease, said its president, Peter Mandelstam. He said he hopes to secure the lease by the end of the year.

Once a lease on these ocean blocks has been secured, construction permits can begin. Or better put: Bluewater can proceed with more detailed environmental reviews to try to get a construction permit.

And to those of us who marshaled the deal in 08, here is a reminder of how time flies… Bluewater faces a September deadline to exit the Delmarva contract or pay $2.75 million, money it would get back if it successfully completed the wind farm.

The following concern has also been noted in the Federal overview of the project. Construction will take place near an area off Delaware, where ships typically anchor. Wind development should be avoided in that area, the U.S. Coast Guard has argued.

The anchorage area, off Delaware Seashore State Park, sits on the outer edge of Bluewater’s proposed development area.

map of Bluewater's location vis a vis shipping lanes

Every time I pay my electric bill to Delmarva, I sigh, knowing that had wind gotten underway faster, I’d be paying 60% less…….