REPORT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cape Wind, the first offshore wind farm in the US to win regulatory approval, has found a buyer for half of the electricity it will generate, when completed.

Investor-owned energy company National Grid announced a power purchase agreement with Cape Wind Associates, the project's developers, on Friday. The deal, which came less than ten days after Cape Wind won regulatory approval, is a critical milestone for the project because it shows potential investors that there are utilities interested in buying its electrici

The utility agreed to buy electricity from the farm at 20.7 cents a kilowatt hour, a roughly 8-cent premium over non-renewable electricity. That translates into about $1.59 per month for the typical customer, or about a nickel a day to turn on the A/C guilt-free. The contract is for 15 years, and prices will rise at a 3.5 percent annual rate.