One Delaware state lawmaker is not giving up on his goal to make offshore wind farms a reality along the coast of Delaware.
State Rep. John Kowalko (D-Newark) has just returned from a trip to the United Kingdom, where he learned how that country became the world leader in wind energy.
Kowalko was instrumental in Delaware’s previous attempt at offshore wind farms.
He helped the state secure a power purchase agreement with Delmarva Electric and NRG Bluewater, but the plan expired in 2011 after they failed to attract investors and get certainty with federal tax credits.
Kowalko said that same purchase agreement would be a valuable piece of paper today.
“If I had that piece of paper in hand now and handed it to a company like Siemens or another one of those companies that are building offshore wind. They would jump in a heartbeat at being able to change some of the numbers in there and say we agree to this,” he said.
Kowalko said the UK’s investment in wind energy has spurred competition and advancements in technology that will make it quicker, cheaper and easier for states like Delaware to build their own wind farms.
Kowalko plans to present findings from his trip to Gov. John Carney as soon as possible.
Carney, as well as U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, are both advocates of wind farms.
And that could be a sign political winds are blowing in the right direction.