The Offshore Wind Energy Working Group has sent some initial recommendations to Gov. John Carney.
The group was created by Carney in August. He wants it to evaluate whether Delaware should build an offshore wind farm, join a project in another state or consider buying other renewable energy.
Carney said he’s weighing cost effectiveness of making ratepayers pay more for electricity. But an offshore wind project wouldn’t necessarily help with Delaware’s clean air goals because most of the air pollution comes from states west of us who use coal power plants.
“It’s going to be a complicated analysis to figure out what’s good for Delaware and Delaware’s ratepayers,” he said.
But it also says it’s continues to look at some wind energy options that could bring economic opportunities and energy benefits. Carney said he’s interested in seeing whether the cost would be worth the investment.
“Mostly I think at whether there’s an opportunity to piggyback now on what the state of Maryland is doing," he said. "And one of the big factors is to going to be a cost analysis about that. How much is it going to cost ratepayers.
In the memo, the offshore wind members say they plan to continue to meet next year. And they’re committed to holding more public comment sessions before issuing a final report.
