MMS Issues First Request for Interest for Offshore Wind

Let’s hope that in Delaware, first isn’t worst.

The Newark Post Online reports that the Department of Interior’s Mineral Management Service (MMS)  has issued the first Request for Interest (RFI) in an offshore wind site on the Outer Continental Shelf, off the coast of Delaware.  If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll recall that several years back, Bluewater Wind, an offshore wind developer, miraculously prevailed over a natural gas fired plant in a competitive bidding procedure to supply power to Delaware utility Delmarva Power.  Well, the site where Bluewater plans to deploy that wind project is currently the subject of the MMS RFI.

Of course, Bluewater doesn’t have much choice in the matter.  According to the MMS Regulations, MMS is required to publish notice of interest in a site and determine whether competitive interest exists.  Which means that even though Bluewater has been eying sites off of Delaware for several years, a competitor could still apply for the site, setting up a bonus bidding war and adding costs to these already pricey projects.

MMS has long insisted that the provisions of EPAct 2005 left it no choice but to implement a competitive bidding process.  True enough.  However, competition doesn’t have to come down to who has the most money.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s process for choosing developers for hydro sites is also competitive (at least in theory since FERC often calls a tie and defaults to first to file or municipal preference).  Specifically, the Federal Power Act directs FERC to choose the project best adapted to make best comprehensive use of the waterway.  MMS could have adopted a similar approach to competition, or better yet, could have granted a marginal preference to the applicant – in this case Bluewater – that brings the site to the attention of MMS.

In any event, I’m hoping that all of this is academic, with Bluewater ultimately securing a site for a project in which it has already invested substantial resources.  On the other hand, the offshore wind industry hasn’t exactly faced smooth sailing here in the United States, so a competitive proceeding for the Delaware site wouldn’t surprise me either.

To view a map of the proposed site in the RFI, click here.  The official RFI will appear in the April 23 issue of the Federal Register.  And for more information on MMS’ offshore wind activities in other states, visit this section of the MMS Website.