In 2008, Governor Martin O’Malley successfully championed the effort that more than doubled Maryland’s renewable portfolio standard that requires utilities to purchase 20% of their power from clean energy sources by 2022. The State of Maryland, in partnership with the University of Maryland, designed the “Generating Clean Horizons” request for proposal (RFP) program to help spur development of commercial-scale renewable energy projects. The Generating Clean Horizons award supports and helps realize the recently signed tri-state partnership by the Governors of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, which calls for the Mid-Atlantic States to leverage resources to bring offshore wind energy to the region.

“These state leaders recognize the potential of a regional offshore wind industry to provide jobs as well as clean energy alternatives,” said Peter Mandelstam, President of NRG Bluewater Wind.

“Offshore wind is established in Europe but new for the United States, and it produces reliable and emission-free power close to higher population areas, which makes it an attractive and valuable renewable resource.”

NRG Bluewater Wind is expected to receive this PPA later this month from the University of Maryland.

The Company also has a 25-year, 200 MW PPA with Delmarva Power & Light Company.

About NRG

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Company’s power plants provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity—enough to supply more than 20 million homes. NRG’s retail business, Reliant Energy, serves more than 1.6 million residential, businesses, commercial and industrial customers in Texas. A past recipient of the energy industry’s highest honors—Platts Industry Leadership and Energy Company of the Year awards, NRG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of business and environmental organizations calling for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com or www.nrg-econrg.com.

About NRG Bluewater Wind

NRG Bluewater Wind, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., is one of the nation’s leading developers of offshore wind energy projects, and a tireless advocate of wind as a clean, safe, and stable-priced means to meet our energy needs while creating additional “clean tech” jobs. The NRG Bluewater Wind team has many years of combined experience in the wind, energy, environmental, finance, public policy, and marine sectors. More information is available at www.bluewaterwind.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include statements regarding Bluewater’s wind development and typically can be identified by the use of words such as “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “plan,” “believe” and similar terms. Although the Company believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, adverse results in current and future litigation, and the inability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included herein should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

source: www.benzinga.com