Both events add to the frenetic activity in the offshore wind segment during 2009, which indicates that the offshore segment is finally reaching take-off speed. NRG has acquired Bluewater from the Australian wind energy investment group, B&B, and its local partner Arcadia. The package includes a portfolio of “more than seven" offshore projects "at an advanced stage of development", announces NRG.
The most advanced of these projects is in Delaware (200 MW), for which a power purchase agreement with the local electricity company Delmarva Power & Light Company has already been signed. Bluewater plans on constructing the wind farm 20 kilometres off the coast and connecting it to the electricity grid by 2013. The wind farm could also be expanded to 450 MW. “There is no doubt that offshore wind is the renewable energy with the greatest potential for the population centres along the Western coats of the US,” says David Crane, CEO of NRG. The company explains that it is also looking for other opportunities to acquire renewable energy projects in general and offshore wind projects in particular.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, RWE Innogy has started work on installing a measuring tower as a first step towards acquiring approval to construct 300 MW of offshore capacity in Holland. The Tromp wind farm will be located 75 kilometres off the Callantsoog coast in the north of the country and will comprise 59 five-megawatt turbines (the manufacturer of which has not yet been revealed). The company plans on commencing construction in 2011 and connecting the wind farm between 2013 and 2014.
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