"NStar OKs top dollar deal with Cape Wind" March 31, 2012|Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff
Boston utility NStar has agreed to pay a starting price for power from the Cape Wind project that is substantially above the cost of conventional energy and will slightly increase the average customer’s monthly bill beginning the first year the offshore wind farm generates electricity, according to a 15-year contract filed with state regulators Friday....
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Since the Cape Wind power represents only about 2 percent of the energy distributed by NStar, it is expected to have a moderate impact on the average customer’s bill, $1.08 a month. Customers in the Boston area pay about $86 a month.
Cape Wind executives and advocates believe the project will, in the long run, help moderate regional energy costs.
The $1.6 billion contract still needs the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. NStar, with 1.1 million electric customers, has asked for a decision by the end of the year....
Despite the high price of Cape Wind’s power, supporters have argued that the project will help lower New England energy prices in the long run.
Just wondering if you were tired of them farting in your face.
Cape Wind says the savings could be substantial. An update of a 2010 study commissioned by Cape Wind estimates that the wind farm will help the region save an average $7.2 billion on wholesale energy prices in its first 25 years of operation.
That’s because Cape Wind’s costs will be paid for by fixed contracts with the utilities. With no fuel costs when the turbines are rotating, it will displace power on the grid from energy sources with higher fuel costs, according to the study.
“Cape Wind would have a substantial impact in reducing spot market prices,’’ said Mark Rodgers, a Cape Wind spokesman. “That ultimately filters back to all of us electricity consumers in New England.’’
Meanwhile, Robert Rio, a spokesman for the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a trade group that has long opposed the high price tag for Cape Wind’s power, said he thinks that any such savings would actually be “incredibly minuscule.’’
“I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to make money on this thing,’’ he said. “It’s real fuzzy math.’’
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Also see: Mass. OK’s merger of NStar and Northeast
NStar’s merger with Northeast Utilities now finalized
Minnesota Taxpayers Stuck Footing The Bill For Wind They Can’t Use or Sell
Globe didn't tell me that.
