BOSTON, March 31 (UPI) —
A wind power project designated for offshore Massachusetts has sold another 27.5 percent of the power it expects to generate, a contract proposal indicates.
In 2010, the project, called Cape Wind, signed a contract to sell half of its power to National Grid. This week, utility company NStar agreed to purchase 27.5 percent of Cape Wind’s energy for the same price of 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
That price, which has been called coerced, is expected to have minimal impact on consumer prices, given it will only represent 2 percent of NStar’s power source, The Boston Globe reported Saturday.
On the other hand, the price is about 10 cents per kilowatt hour more than NStar normally pays.
Although the contract requires approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the price was part of an agreement that allowed NStart to merge with Northeast Utilities of Connecticut.
The contract also stipulates inflation adjustments of 3.5 percent per year for 15 years.
Some are upset that NStar will be paying 31 cents per kilowatt hour by the end of the contract.
Environmental groups, however, say a renewable, clean source of power is worth the cost.
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