Under Pressure

Not much has been said about Tony DeLuca’s ridgewalking, where the slightest misstep will cause the loss of an entrenched majority leader.

His district is primarily working class, the very type of people wondering how on earth the will pay off their current electric bills, refinanced houses, insurance premiums, late credit card fees, and still have enough money left over….to feed their families..

His position, as power broker for special interests, goes in the opposite direction from what 90% of his constituents so desperately need. Firmly entrenched with the lobbying hopeful, he has delivered to his gaggle, time and time again…..

There has been some discussion among some members of ACORN, composed of some 3000 members, to target Deluca’s 11th Senatorial District, and canvas those neighborhoods and fan the flames of discontent. Most of those neighborhoods have not seen DeLuca since 1998 when he defeated Donna Stone by only 253 votes. Imagine opening your front door to someone in your position giving you the flat out truth about the Senator who helped put you there…. Several of ACORN’s charter members live within that district.

I have remarked on other pages, that it is only those legislators who think themselves invulnerable, ever support corporate interests within this state. Wayne Smith is a prime example. Now, Harris McDowell, Thurman Adams, and Charlie Copeland have too come to fit this profile….. On the other hand, those whose political fortunes can flip at any given moment, survive by keeping their ear to the ground and performing admirably, regardless of party line, such as one Dick Cathcart……

The problem with challenging DeLuca, Adams, and McDowell , stems not from a lack of anger towards the bureaucratization of their policies, but rather it comes from a lack of strong candidates within their respective districts, willing to take on first a well heeled incumbent within the Democratic party in a primary, and then…. throw themselves against the Republicans just two months later….. These areas supporting these incumbents, tend to be dominated by one party. So challenges coming from outside that party, would certainly have to overcome the natural constituent disdain of voting for one’s enemy……

But Bluewater Wind has changed things. Angry people are fed up with those willing to sell them to the highest bidder. Angry people are fed up with those who responsible for raising their electrical rates back in May 06 and now want to raise them even higher by voting against Bluewater Wind….. they are fired up enough to show their anger in the voting booth.

Interest has been expressed among several of DeLuca’s Democratic constituents to begin a campaign against the Senate Majority Leader…. Based on the street talk among their neighbors, defeating DeLuca is looking like a “slam dunk” of an opportunity…..

Obviously feeling the pressure, DeLuca is positioning himself to modify his constituents by coming out in favor of the Bluewater Wind deal…. The constituents want R – E – L – I – E – F . Anything perceived as not providing such, will do little to keep him in his seat….. Right now 300MW is the amount that will work for them… It will be enough to cover the minimum amount Delmarva needs to supply all its power…. The lowest point of demand in any report seen so far, was 293 MWh. That level needs to be covered by the wind farm agreement with Bluewater…. or at least close enough to be rounded up to that amount….(say 290MWH)

Were the amount only to turn out to be 250 MWh, as was the onshore proposal a very disappointing 100 MWh of mostly credits, then the impact of the achievement of signing Bluewater Wind will be mollified by its effect. We will get a showcase of windmills off Rehoboth, but will not get relief in our power bills to the extent we should have.

Delmarva is a controlled entity. They have used that relationship to their advantage for years now. It is time that we return the favor and collect our dues paid out to them over all these years…. Let us not forget that every time we pay our electric bills, we are doing them a huge favor based entirely upon the structure of their favored status…. Delawareans deserve cheaper energy. Bluewater will provide it. In fact the 300 MWh is already a compromised figure… To truly benefit Delaware it should be much larger…..

DeLuca must walk a fine line. Delmarva would be wise to understand that signing onto the 300MWh would be their cheapest option…. For if they don’t, there may be a new majority leader chomping at the bit to rectify their favored status, come next January……..

Need A Fact Sheet for Bluewater Wind?

Is Bluewater Wind cheaper than no Bluewater Wind.

Absolutely. Only if the offshore wind farm is built, will your rates stay the same of drop… All other options proposed by Delmarva will raise your power bill…… which of course is why they are proposing them……….

Wait, my radio says onshore is cheaper than offshore……

Aye, they tricked you….. Theoretically land based wind can be produced cheaper if on is lucky to find a good location, with few people holding out their hands….. Whereas the onshore windpower is cheaper, Delmarva refuses to buy enough of it to lower your bills…. They are buying it instead to meet the law that states a certain amount of the state’s energy must come from renewable sources. They will continue to make their money on coal, gas, and oil fired turbines….

So why will Bluewater be any cheaper?

Bluewater will supply about on third of all the energy in Delaware at a price lower than what Delmarva pays today. The onshore wind will supply only 1/10th of the wind…That means that 90%, not 70% of our electricity will come from expensive sources, and those expenses will of course, be passed right down to us…..

Can Bluewater really guarantee the same cost twenty five years from now?

Yes.

Those who signed for their house loan thirty years ago, are paying exactly what they signed for…… It is much less than were someone to start paying on the same property today…….. The same principle hold true in Bluewater Wind. the air is free; the only payment is monthly installments on the loan that was used to build it.

What is this exculation fee of 2% on Bluewater’s price, that Delmarva keeps talking about it.

It is called the “Delmarva increase” because that is what Delmarva got year after year for inflation. If Bluewater does not use the 2% yearly, Delmarva will. You are going to pay for it anyway.

Is Bluewater bad for the environment?

No, it is very good for wildlife, Much better for wildlife than land based wind farms are…. In fact Delmarva just signed a deal which if it goes trough, will damage some of Eastern America’s prime wilderness. The locals have fought that power station off for 5 years…….. Whereas Bluewater’s platforms will attract sport fishing, sea plants and animals.

Flat out. What would be the cheapest alternative for supplying Delaware’s power needs?

Building the 300 MW wind farm, cutting back on demand, and then, supplementing the majority of of what’s left, with contracted land based windpower, would be the best option both environmentally and most cost effectively.

How much is Bluewater Wind, I mean exactly?

$105.90 per MWh and that price is guaranteed for 25 years in today’s dollars. As a reference, Delmarva buys power today at $110.00 dollars per MWh and the price goes up again next year.

Has Delmarva been lying to us?

Give them a break. Bluewater Wind will save consumers a ton of money, which is money they will not be able to collect… so what did you expect?

Big Environmental Problems With Delmarva’s Choice

There is nothing better for the environment of an ocean floor, than a large number of wind tower platforms to attract lifeforms living under water. Offshore Delaware would become the sport fishing capital on the East Coast….

But there are environmental problem associated with Gary Stockbridge’s choice of land based energy. As I mentioned yesterday, Delmarva announced they would sign a deal with the Annapolis based company Synergics….

Whereas Delawareans flooded each of the Public Service Commission’s hearings to voice their support for offshore wind, over 700 of our neighbors in Garrett County Maryland, drove 200 miles to Annapolis to voice their opposition to their proposed wind farm, with whom Gary wants to sign the deal…. Indeed, only one hippie from Pennsylvania turned out to be the sole person speaking in favor of the project.

The proposed wind farm, would sit on 400 acres of currently undeveloped wilderness. This wind farm in question, surrounding Savage River State Park, would be built in a world renown unique environment. Situated at elevations nearing 4000 feet, this area has the flora and fauna of Canada’s Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, some thousand miles distant to the northeast…..A spot of Canadian wilderness, full of unique plants and wildlife, can nowhere else be found as far south as the latitude of Washington DC….

Building a wind farm there, would be the equivalent of cutting large swaths through Yellowstone National Park…..At public hearings held in McHenry, Maryland, ” it was clear there was tremendous opposition to the wind turbines.” offered their County Commissioner, Lamont Pagenhardt.

Back in April Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at the Savage River scenic overlook, announced Maryland would not approve the use of public state land for wind turbines.However he did not rule out Federal, County, or private lands.

But there in Garrett County is local concern that not only animals will be displaced and have their habitats destroyed. Voting citizens may be evicted through the invocation of eminent domain……

“As you know, courts have always recognized that governments can make laws to protect their citizens from potential danger and catastrophe, yet Commissioners Gregg, Glotfelty, and Holliday have shirked and willfully neglected their sworn responsibility to do the right thing by providing necessary safeguards. It is difficult for me to understand how hours of discussion can be spent on the size of signs and the square footage of kitchens, while silence abounds on this issue.”

Can you imagine Delmarva complicit in the exercise of eminent domain? There would be no such problems with Bluewater Wind…..

Back in Delaware we are about to vote on approving Bluewater Wind’s proposal. Yesterday we proved that Delmarva’s new onshore wind plan was too costly because it supplied only 100 MW of energy which would do little to drop our total price as the price of coal, gas, and oil all soared sky high…..

Now today we discover that instead of helping the environment as would Bluewater Wind, Delmarva’s choice of an alternative, has grave environmental concerns which once done, could never again be rectified………..

Another Reason Bluewater Is The Best Option

The News Journal broke this story this morning… Some excerpts.

Attorney Randall Speck, who is representing the states, said there was a strong incentive for generators of the power in the PJM area to withhold some supply to increase prices. PJM tried to mitigate this, but was unable to do so, he said.

Capacity charges in the PJM area increased by about 1,200 percent from 2007 to 2008, and now make up 20 percent of a Delmarva customer’s bill.

The higher rates were supposed to spur construction of new power plants for the constrained East Coast. But despite the higher rates, power companies have been slow to build the new plants, the complaint alleges.

As a share of that, Delmarva Power ratepayers in Delaware will overpay by about $125 million in “unjust and unreasonable” rates, the states claim.

====

Wow. Keep in mind one of the misleading advertisements put up by Delmarva Power says Bluewater will cost more then 80 million a year….Does anyone seem surprised that NOT HAVING BLUEWATER WIND, will cost us 125 million instead?

You and I have been paying this money to increase capacity. We have already written the checks…Not only did our power companies cash the check and sit on the funds, earning interest, but the spent hundreds of thousands to throw a roadblock in the way of a competitor who wanted to do just what we were paying to have happen: build capacity.

This throws a credibility wrench into everything Delmarva has said…..It appears that their only reason for opposing Bluewater Wind, is so they can earn interest on our money while using the capacity shortage, as an excuse to raise our rates higher.

if you are shopping and you do not like how you get treated, you choose a different store with which to do business.

All of Delaware should scream at their Senators to get off their high horses and change vendors. More than ever we need Bluewater Wind in our own backyard, just to ensure that in our future, these shenanigans won’t take place here…….

Delmarva Power Signs Land Deal Today

Today is the day Delmarva Power announces that they have signed a deal for on-shore wind. It is priced much less per MWh than that of Bluewater Wind. It will come from a state which borders Delaware, thereby giving us the benefits of clean air.. The facility is currently under construction and should come on line and begin producing power by December of this year, instead of the 2014 date scheduled for Bluewater Wind…….The announcement and the contract should be up on their website, so all can study it.

So exactly how big is the contract? Does it supply as much or more renewable energy as does the Bluewater Wind deal?

Through a mixture of REC’s and direct power purchases, the land based utility will provide around 100 MW of energy to Delaware….This little bit will still provide more than the percentage of renewable energy required by the General Assembly. Later this week, another press conference should announce plans for an additional 170 MWh’s to have been signed by Delmarva, and that both deals are now awaiting PSC approval. Both of these contracts are long term and range from 16 to 20 years……

This can be good news. But onshore wind is too risky to fall upon if we go forward without having an off shore wind farm to back it up…..

Why? Because of the small amount of energy being supplied by these onshore wind farms….The amounts provided are too small to make a dent in your power bill……even though what little is being sold, it is quite cheap….

According to the contract, Bluewater Wind is required to supply 300 Mw every hour of every day for the life of the contract. Normally the Delmarva grid runs about 1000 MWh during all but its peak hours……There are times, particularly late at night, when the entire grid dips below 280 MWhs and still everything is kept running smoothly…..

So now we will do the math. If Bluewater Wind is supplied at $105 dollars per MWh, and the carbon power grid, which can go as high as $1600 dollars per MWh, is running at $155 dollars per MWh, then the combined total we would pay, based on the average of the two, would be paying [3(105) + 7 (155)]/ 10, would give us our price of $140 per MWh. Pictorially it would look something like this.

That was the Bluewater Plan…..Now here is why Delmarva is trying to use Onshore Wind to block the passage of HCR38 which would order the Bluewater Wind deal to go forward. The are assuming no on will be able to do the math to figure how much they stand to make if we ditch Bluewater in favor of their monopolistic friends……

They bait Delaware with an offer of 100 MWh at $70 dollars per Mwh….As you can see $70 dollars is cheaper than Bluewater’s price of $105 dollars MWh…..But it is only a tiny sliver against a large percentage of very high price carbon fuel fired electricity. So by doing the math, [1($70) + 9($155)] / 10 =  $146.50 per MWh on the average. As you can see the combined totals are cheaper for Bluewater Wind….If you play around with the formulas you will find that around $5 dollars per MWh, the onshore deal provides as much lowering force as does 300 MWh of Bluewater wind. That’s $5 dollars for a full MWh, compared to Bluewater Wind’s $105 and carbons $155 dollars per MWH used to generate power from carbon.

300 MWH of Bluewater Wind will provide more of a lowering influence against other Carbon fuels, than 100 MWh of cheaper on shore wind…. (Which is why Delmarva wants to buy from land based wind..)

But what if both deals go through…..can that hurt? By doing the math we see that [3 (105) + 1 (70) + 6(155)]/10 = $13.15 MWh of electricity. The combination package will save us more…..But any scenario without Bluewater Wind’s off-shore 300 Mwh driving down the price of coal, gas, and oil, …….will cost us more.

“Font”ificating

Bluewater Wind:   $105.90 per MWh guaranteed for twenty five years.

Delmarva Power:  $110.00 per MWh not even guaranteed for three years.

Do they have a math class in Legislative Hall, particularly on the South End of the building?

Windpower for Dummies: Chapter 8

Should windpower’s costs be spread to all power users in Delaware?

No, and here is why.

The cost saved is already considerable. To not go through with the plan, would cost us far more than what we would save if we waited until trying to spread the cost among all users.

The reason is because House Bill 06 was all about getting cheaper energy to those poor citizens who suffered the 59% rate increase.

Bluewater Wind will do that.

What you will pay for electricity in today’s dollars, will be $105 per MWH plus Delmarva’s 4% guaranteed profit margin, totaling 109.20 cents per MWH. That breaks down to 10.9 cents per kilowatt hour printed on your next twenty five years of electric bills. Check your Delmarva Bill ans see how that rate compares with what you pay today……

It’s like buying Mahaffie’s magical Honda Prius with no interest, ever.

What is being said, by those opposing the wind deal, is “hey, let’s hold off and see if we can get this super great deal even cheaper. ”

Chances are, we wait too long, someone like New Jersey will steal that great deal out from under our noses.

That is why it is silly not to sign the deal as it was originally intended. Already It is a deal too good to pass up….

The sooner the Senate passes HCR 38 and work begins, the sooner we see lower power bills coming in the mail.. One month’s delay from getting started, wipes out, or equals all the prospective savings we would save if we somehow crossed that boondoggle and spread the costs to everyone, industrial and commercial……

What is important to remember……is that with Bluewater Wind, there are no costs, only savings.

To lose a deal saving us thousands of dollars, by quibbling over a few pennies, does not make rational sense.

But Delmarva says spreading the costs will save us money.

No, …they “said”. They also “said” natural gas prices would go down, thereby if they did, then and only then would Bluewater Wind cost more money than buying short term contracts. Natural gas prices, like gasoline, are higher than their prices of last year. Not lower as Delmarva’s consultants stated when making their comparison, but quite a bit higher and expected to climb,…..not go down.

Because of the high rates for burning carbon fuel, not even to mention the Carbon Taxes expected to be levied upon all carbon producers……any delay will cost us far more than the dollar or two we might save if we spread all costs to all segments of society using power….

All this line is, that of spreading out the costs, is a delay tactic. Someone figured out that if gas prices plummeted to levels never seen……a wildly extravagant speculation, that in such a case, an off-shore wind farm would cost six extra dollars a month. Someone else figured out that if one spread all costs among the industrial, who are the biggest users, and commercial, the second biggest users, as well as the residential customers, we would save that 6 dollars a month. We could then buy 5 more SoBe‘s a month with the savings.

Somewhere buried in their calculations, was the confidence that as our rates declined, the rates of our industrial giants would rise, and their pressure on the General Assembly would scuttle the entire Wind process. Seriously, we must truly consider whether we want our industrial manufacturers, pricing themselves out of the market because of a utility increase, especially in today’s “talk of recession” market……..

Simply put, it would not be a good idea.

What IS a good idea is to pass HCR38 so those of us who are already paying too much for our electricity six months longer than we should have been, can finally see the relief House Bill 6 was supposed to provide……..when it cleared the House, Senate and was signed by the Governor, all in one day back in April of 2006………

Why all this talk about Gas prices going down? Everyone knows they won’t.

Delmarva began their campaign against Bluewater Wind by stating that a natural gas fired turbine built and operated by their sister company Connectiv, would be cheaper over twenty five years than an offshore wind farm. Among the data they used to make that calculation was the idea that bas prices would drop extremely low for roughly the nest ten years then slowly climb again. This was incredulous to those of us reading the futures reports on all carbon fuel supplies…

We never let them forget it, because they used that data to try to “dis” windpower throughout the state. Bottom line, wind power, especially offshore wind built in a category 4 or above area, is the cheapest form of electricity we currently have at our disposal today….

It also calls into account either their honesty, or their intelligence for proposing such a stupid proposition, fully expecting it to be believed, even while in the meantime, we can’t keep up with our utility payments………Like a pet who misses its litter box, let us rub their noses in it one more time.

The Henry Hub natural gas spot price averaged $7.17 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in 2007 and is expected to average about $9.70 per Mcf in 2008 and $9.40 per Mcf in 2009.

I will leave for the reader to determine whether their misrepresentation was done deliberatively or was just a miscalculation……..

The Psychology Behind Sen. Bob Marshall

	SB36	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 19 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
	SB97	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE FALSE CLAIMS AND REPORTING ACT.
	SB99	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO THE STATE EMPLOYEE’S PENSION PLAN.
	SB109	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
	SB118	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTING.
	SB149	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TAX CREDITS.
	SB163	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 5 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FORECLOSURE PROTECTION FOR HOMEOWNERS.
	SB175	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO NURSING FACILITIES AND SIMILAR FACILITIES.
	SB204	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE MINIMUM WAGE
	SB207	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TO PRACTICE MEDICINE.
	SB252	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 & 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FORECLOSURE PROTECTION FOR HOMEOWNERS
	SCR12	URGING CONGRESS TO ENACT THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT.
	SCR24	ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER THE NEED FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO AND/OR REVISIONS OF EAGLE’S LAW, ENACTED IN 2000 TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS FOR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH FACILITIES.
	SCR40	CREATING A TASK FORCE TO PROTECT, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THOROUGHBRED RACING IN DELAWARE.
	SCR41	CREATING A TASK FORCE TO PROTECT, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THOROUGHBRED RACING IN DELAWARE.
	SR11	ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER THE NEED FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO AND/OR REVISIONS OF EAGLE’S LAW, ENACTED IN 2000 TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS FOR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH FACILITIES.

It is obvious Bob cares about the “little” people. When it comes to choosing between corporate profits, and a working wage, his track record in that regards, is obvious.

Probably more than any other, he is aware of how much the current plan of Delmarva has disrupted the lives of most of his constituents. Probably more than any other, he is knowledgeable of how little one can trust Delmarva Power to deliver upon their promises. Probably more than any other, he can sympathize with those who desperately wish their electric bills would go down.

Supporting Delmarva will only make them go up.

Let me ask Bob a simple question.  Would most union members have the standard of living they had during the Clinton years, if….the labor unions had rolled over and allowed employers to do what they wanted?

No.

Those benefits were fought for. Earlier last century gun battles raged when workers sought to get money for the work they provided….A corporation is happiest when employees work for free. Only when they have no other choice but the threat of a unionized work force, will employers willingly pay wages high enough which benefit both parties simultaneously….

Anyone who disagrees with this should study how coal mines functioned as late as the twentieth century far up in the hollows of West Virginia…….One has only to Google Pinkerton raids, to see that force, not negotiation was the common method used to keep wages artificially low……..

The similarities between coal of Appalachia and Delmarva Power of Delaware, are rather uncanny. Both control their respective legislatures. Both feel that they can do whatever they want, state laws be damned. Both feel that “their subjects” are not capable of thinking for themselves and will, pay any price for the services so graciously given.

One would think that Bob Marshall would jump at the chance to support those struggling against Delmarva’s super high rates for electric power….One would think that Bob Marshall would willingly vote to support Bluewater Wind which will guarantee its rates from now until 25 years, at a price that is $5 dollars/MWh less than that which Delmarva is currently paying for the electricity you are using right now……

One would think…..

But as we know, none of Hitler’s cabinet spoke out against the Fuhrer, except for the one who botched the bomb. But none of Bush’s Republicans spoke out against the drums of war, except for one from Nebraska………. Likewise three Senators voted with Harris McDowell to allow an obviously flawed report onto the Senate floor, which seemed to discredit Bluewater Wind.

Of those three, Bob Marshall was one……..

The State Senate is about “getting along.” If you piss off Thurman Adams or Tony DeLuca, none of what you wish to accomplish, will ever move forward or see the light of day. Bob has the unfortunate job of kissing asses, both male and female. Tongue in cheek (yuck) one could say, based on the amount of legislation listed above, he must be good at it….

But sometimes getting along, which may seem well for the short term, will damn you forever in the long term. I am currently thinking of one Pontius Pilate, who based on the lessons ascribed to us from the Gospels, certainly didn’t want to do what he did, but under “social” pressure, washed his hands and entered fame a cursed man……

He was not disparaged for what he was……But for what he did not do.

Technology moves us forward….We traded horses for steam locomotives. We traded piston propellers for jet engines……We traded tubes for solid state, and that for silicon chips…… Each step along the way, the losing side, fought hard to prevent the competition from moving in…… Some areas may have won the battle, only to suffer economic hardship as people went elsewhere where wiser, more astute persons, were wise enough to calculate new technology into their economic equation…….

Bluewater Wind will need local union labor to complete its mission. Every grocery store, every restaurant, every strip mall, every gas station, could use some of that local union income being spent in their establishment.

If Bob votes no, that infusion of income will probably wind up in New Jersey. Later…..when the dinosaurs die, or come up for re-election, whichever comes first….and wind is eventually passed, the installation of the offshore towers will be done not by Delawareans, but by citizens of our neighboring state to the East.

Their malls, restaurants, and grocery stores will thrive. Many of ours here in Delaware may go out of business. Without Bluewater Wind, we can expect our unemployment expenses to climb; that at a time when we lack resources to even run our government…..

Perhaps New Jersey can lend us some money if Bob votes no…..

Bob’s heart is in the right place….but so was Pilate’s. The question which all of Delaware is pondering tonight and for the next several weeks, is whether he has the balls to stand up to his friends and do the right thing…….?

The Math

I was browsing through Maria Evan’s posts today and while doing so, I was thinking that it would be nice to have an update on where we stood with wind as of this day, this hour, this minute…..

And there it was……..

There, and perhaps accepting that I was blinded for all the trees, was a “forest” statement which had unfortunately slipped off my agenda.

Controller Russ Larson doesn’t even need to wait for the Senate to pass the resolution, the law doesn’t require the General ASSembly to even vote for, or against the project.

I had forgotten that point. Included within House Bill 6 is NO requirement that General Assembly be involved at all. It simply says four entities must vote on the matter. Of those four, only one, was a single person. The others were boards or groups….

Russ Larson was primed to vote for moving forward on Bluewater Wind last December. Then Charlie Copeland, (who is running for Lieutenant Governor this summer, so feel free to vote for his opponent David Graham to show your displeasure (whoever wins will lose to Matt Denn anyway)), Tony DeLuca, Harris McDowell, and “Desk Drawer” Adams, and Harris McDowell, ordered him to vote no.

When the other three were informed that a no vote would be forthcoming, they wisely voted to table the bill, instead of voting to “kill” it….

And you know, it probably makes sense. For Russ Larson to represent the General Assembly as a whole, just as each board was represented as a whole, it was probably a good idea to determine whether the General Assembly was indeed in favor of going forward….

The vote should have taken place on January 3rd.

The General Assembly consists of 21 Senators and 41 Representatives.

If one does not account for the power grabbing eccentrics running the Senate, one must realize that for the spirit of the leader’s decision to be fulfilled, there must be more than half, or 31 people willing to support Bluewater’s offshore development.

Twenty five delegates voted “aye” in the House. Eight Senators have signed on as sponsors in the Senate.

That means that already, 33 out of 62 of our elected officials are in favor of moving forward.

Therefore even if a parliamentary move keeps the bill locked in “Desk Drawer’s” bureau, Russ Larson already has enough proof to know that his personal view represents the majority of our General Assembly, and can, at any time, vote “yes” with a clear conscience.

90% of Delaware is anxious to get moving………..

Pants On Fire

“Attention Delmarva Customers:”

Blah, Blah,Blah………………….

Bluewater will cost you twice as much…..

Blah, Blah, Blah.………………..

Of course you are allowed to lie. Under this Republican administration, there is no such thing as truth in advertising……

“Sure Chinese toys are safe for children”

or

“Your pet will never forget our brand of Pet food…….”

Anyone can say anything and there is flat out no accountability…..The longterm problem is that as cynical as this society has become, we will not hear the real call of “Wolf” until it is too late, thanks the the lax laissez-faire policies of Republican bureaucrats in charge of monitoring truthfulness on our airwaves…..

But the Delmarva commercial is not true. I was asked by one indidvidual how they could possible spin their commercial so they could stand up in court, if and when that time arrives.

It took me quite a few listens to hear how they constructed their argument so they could state their lie without stating a lie.

We hear the words “costs half as much as Bluewater Wind…..” and that unfortunately, happens to be all we hear.

The truth is that Bluewater Wind at $105 dollars / MWh is already cheaper than Delmarva Power is at $110 dollars /MWh. What’s cool is that in 2039, when the contract is expected to end, Bluewater Wind will still cost $105 dollars per MWh in today’s dollars. By that time, coal, gas, and oil could be as high as $250 dollars per MWh…….

That’s the truth. Here is how Delmarva spins their lie.

if you listen, they say that they have some bids for on=hore wind power that are less than half the cost of wind power. They do not tell you that there are no bids for coal, gas, or oil that are below that amount….

So the question we should be asking when we hear that commercial, is this: how much onshore wind power generated energy do you plan to supply? 300 MWh?

For that is the amount Bluewater wind will provide at $105 dollars per MWH.

Delmarva is planning to provide roughly 66 MWH of onshore wind power……What that means ….., is that you get stuck with the bill for the difference of 254 megawatts being sold at sky high prices………

(That is how they can afford to get you this great deal on onshore wind.)

It’s as if your one gas station in town, had a Tuesday night special, where they sold 10 gallons of gasoline for $2.00 a gallon. The rest ot the week, they charged you $5.00 per gallon: a price far above the fair market value. So if you drove on two fill ups or 50 gallons a week, you would be paying $20 dollars for the first 10 gallons and $200 dollars for the subsequent other 40. Your total weekly cost would be $220.

At the market price of $4.00 a gallon, the same $50 gallons would cost you ……………………$200 a week…..

This marketing scam allows the gas station to freely advertise that they have the cheapest gas anywhere around…..and for 10 gallons, they do.

So without telling you how much on shore wind will be available, Delmarva can make the claim…..same as the gas station, that at one point in the comparison, they are truly the cheaper of the two……

At one point, they are….

But imagine if the roles were reversed, and a new gas station wanted to come into town….To get approval they of course had to publicize what their price structure would be……They would offer the gas at $3.75 for the period of an extended contract.

Their competitor, the first gas station about which I spoke, would expectedly counter with……”Why that is $1.75 dollars more than our lowest price….”

I hope this digression helps those of you still struggling to filter slivers of truth out of those, who really need to seat their sizzling pants in a bucket is crisp, cool rainwater.

Bluewater Wind is the cheapest deal around.