Siemens Offers To Backstop Cape Wind; Opponents' Filing Moves to Mass. High Court

An appeal by opponents of the controversial Cape Wind farm involving pricing and cost-effectiveness was referred to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Boston.

The order issued on June 17, in response to the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound appeal, seeks to reopen the record involving two long-term contracts with Cape Wind filed last May by the National Grid with the state Department of Public Utilities and closed last October.

The nonprofit environmental alliance argues that the DPU should consider information in NStar Electric filings, which it considers vital to evaluating the long-term contract between National Grid and Cape Wind. It argues that since the 130-turbine, 468-MW Cape Wind farm has not found a buyer for the remaining 50 percent of its output and is not ready to obtain financing or begin construction, no party would be unduly prejudiced by reopening the record.

In the May 10 DPU filing, it states that “the evidence will establish that Cape Wind is overpriced given its benefits and the cost and benefits of renewable energy alternatives.” It notes that the NStar filings demonstrate that state electric distribution companies can obtain long-term supplies of renewable energy at below market prices. Further it argues that NStar filings show that before contracting with Cape Wind, National Grid did not properly consider whether it could achieve substantially the same benefits at lower cost by purchasing power from other regional renewable energy generators.

National Grid and Cape Wind argue that the department should deny the alliance motion because it is “untimely and not permitted by the department’s regulations which do not allow the record to be reopened after a final order has been made.” They also argue that the record is “replete with evidence on the costs of other renewable energy projects” and that the “the truth and accuracy of NStar Electric filings has not yet been verified.”

Mark Rodgers, spokesman for Cape Wind would not comment on the ruling and the alliance could not be reached for comment.

The court will convene to hear arguments in the case in September.

Johanna Knapschaefer, ENR’s New England Special Correspondent, has been writing about trends in design and construction of buildings, bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure for more than a decade. She also profiles award-winning industry leaders and delves into broader construction issues such as workforce training, worker safety and health, climate change remediation and emerging offshore wind and tidal energy developments. Over the past two decades, her articles have appeared in Architectural Record, BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, American Banker, Modern Metals, BusinessNH Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine and many other publications. Johanna is fluent in Japanese, and taught English and academic writing in the Science and Engineering Department of Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, while living in Japan for eight years.

When not writing, Johanna enjoys mountain climbing, singing and playing her Spanish guitar.

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