Statoil says law raises doubt over offshore wind pilot

PHOTO / ØYVIND HAGEN/STATOIL A Statoil-designed offshore wind turbine.

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Statoil North America is preparing to put its offshore wind power pilot project on hold after the passage of a bill it said creates uncertainty that the project will be able to secure ratepayer support.

The Bangor Daily News reported Statoil plans to put its project on hold until the fall in order to review the language of LD 1472 and determine what it means for the company’s chances of securing a long-term power purchasing agreement according to a term sheet approved in January.

Lars Johannes Nordli, Statoil’s vice president of wind development, informed the Maine Public Utilities Commission of its decision to delay the project in a letter submitted Wednesday, the paper reported.

In the letter, Nordli wrote that Maine is not the only place the company is considering a pilot wind power project, and that it does not want to invest further in the project without certainty that the power it produces will have a buyer.

Statoil’s decision has given new fire to a political battle over LD 1472, which Gov. Paul LePage supported as a way to allow a University of Maine offshore wind power pilot project also to vie for eventual ratepayer support. Democratic leaders’ were surprised by the Statoil announcement, according to the BDN, but Patrick Woodcock, director of the governor’s energy office, said delays in the project were expected. In April, the company announced it would make its final decision on the Maine pilot project by late 2014.