A new report claims that the 468 megawatt Cape Wind project would save $4.6 billion in energy costs for New Englanders over 25 years and satisfy 1 percent of the region’s demand in 2013.
The report has done nothing, however, to cool the dispute over the offshore wind installation between developer Cape Wind Associates and the conservation group Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
Report authors Charles River Associates, who were hired by Cape Wind, found that the cost of power would be reduced $185 million annually between 2013-2037, and reduce the need for natural gas, oil and coal-fueled power plants.
The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has posted a response to the study disputing the findings.
Audra Parker, president of the alliance, said:
To repeatedly mislead already overburdened electric ratepayers with the myth of cheap offshore wind is worse than disingenuous; it’s a deliberate attempt to hide the true cost to consumers of Cape Wind.
The study also also does not address the cultural and ecological concerns about the project, notably claims
by local Indians who say the project’s 130 wind turbines would obstruct the views of Nantucket Sound necessary for their spiritual rituals.
Charles River Associates calcuclated the cost savings by projecting wholesale power prices over the 25 year period and determined that the project would cause the prices to trop $1.22 per megawatt hour (MWh) on average.
The consultants had to make some assumptions to get to this number, of course, one of which was a federal greenhouse gas projgram with prices of $30 per ton of carbon dioxide in 2013, rising to $60 per ton by 2030.
The report goes on to describe New England’s hourly power pricing scheme and concludes
Cape Wind will displace higher-cost generation and the associated greenhouse gas emissions in almost every hour of every year, resulting in a reduction in the market price.
Still, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound disagrees on this point too, claiming that Cape Wind is negotiating a power purchase agreement with electric company National Grid.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been encouraging the two sides to reconcile their differences by March 1 or he will step in to obring the “permit process to conclusion.”