Energy Department Offers Conditional Loan to Offshore Wind Energy Plan

The Energy Department on July one announced the 1st step toward issuing a $150 million loan guarantee to support the construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind plan with a conditional commitment to Cape Wind Associates, LLC. If constructed, the plan would be the 1st commercial-scale offshore wind facility in the United States, with a capacity of in excess of 360 megawatts off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The suggested Cape Wind plan would use 130 3.6-megawatt offshore wind turbines that would provide a majority of the electricity needed for Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard, and would create approximately 400 construction jobs and 50 operations jobs.

The conditional commitment is an important step towards issuing a $150 million loan guarantee to support construction of the project. The Department will continue to monitor the project's development and work to reach final arrangement before closing the loan guarantee. Under the suggested financing structure for the Cape Wind project, the Department would be part of a group of public and private lenders. This co-lending arrangement will help build private-sector experience with offshore wind plans in the U.S. while reducing taxpayer exposure. Currently, the Department's Loan Programs Office supports a large, diverse portfolio of in excess of $30 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and commitments, supporting in excess of 30 closed and committed projects. See the Energy Department news release.

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