Except the fact that former Governor Don Carcieri and legislative leaders backed both companies, executives of Deepwater Wind disapprove of any link to 38 Studios.
WPRI.com news portal reported that Deepwater CEO William Moore said he thinks the two companies are not similar since there is no subsidy from any taxpayer or federal taxpayer until electricity is generated.
After a bidding process in 2008, the Carcieri administration chose the company as the state’s preferred developer of an offshore wind farm.
Furthermore, Deepwater has invested over USD 20 million in its Block Island demonstration project. Commercially funded by banks, the project is expected to cost USD 205 million.
“There are no public dollars involved. If the Block Island wind farm doesn’t happen, then National Grid has no liability to pay us,” said Jeff Grybowski , Deepwater’s chief administrative officer .
The company signed a deal with Siemens for its 6MW offshore turbines and considers the contract as a great validation for the project.
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, June 8, 2012; Image: Deepwater Wind