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BOSTON – The second-largest programme in Colony has united to acquire forcefulness from threesome twine noesis companies to support it foregather renewable noesis mandates, but it won't be purchase from a high-profile twine farm soured the coast of Cape Cod.

On Friday, NStar filed contracts with the Department of Public Utilities to acquire noesis from Hoosac Wind in Massachusetts, Groton Wind in New Hampshire and Blue Sky East in Maine.

Cape Wind, the nation's prototypal offshore twine farm, is ease disagreeable to encounter a buyer for half its power. It united last assemblage to a 15-year care to delude the prototypal half to National Grid starting at 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour, and increasing 3.5 proportionality annually.

If Cape Wind doesn't delude the rest of its noesis within the incoming several months, it haw be unnatural to move ahead with a send smaller than the 130-turbine, 468-megawatt twine farm designed in island Sound.

NStar is the exclusive another Colony programme bounteous sufficiency to acquire a super assets of Cape Wind's power. Its threesome deals, if authorised by land regulators, would decimate some quantity that it would acquire every of the noesis Cape Wind ease has on the market, though it could conceivably acquire a assets of it.

Gov. Deval Patrick's brass has backed Cape Wind vigorously, but NStar said months ago it had decided to pursue cheaper renewable forcefulness sources.

The threesome contracts NStar signed, ranging from 10 to 15 years, equal most 109 megawatts of power. The prices NStar has united to clear for the noesis weren't disclosed, and NStar said much pricing is confidential.

"The contracts equal a beatific value for onshore twine resources for our customers," said NStar spokeswoman Carolingian Allen.

Cape Wind spokesman Mark composer said the deals fulfill just a diminutive conception of the region's growing obligation for renewable power, which exceeds what could be supplied by Cape Wind and every designed land twine and solar projects combined.

"Today's announcement represents exclusive a overmodest assets of the total quantity of decent noesis that module requirement to be purchased," he said.

"We remain confident that the unequalled features of Cape Wind, much as brawny creation during nowadays of peak automobile obligation and its close proximity to a location that needs its electricity, module move to attain it captivating to another possibleness buyers," composer said.

NStar subscribed every threesome contracts Dec. 23 and filed them within a required 60-day pane Friday. NStar is asking land regulators to approve the contracts within 180 days.

Though the prices on the recent deals weren't disclosed, a 10-year care NStar has with TransCanada to acquire noesis from a Maine twine farm is a flat 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

The threesome newborn contracts equal most 1.6 proportionality of NStar's demand, and the programme is required to bonded 3 proportionality of its forcefulness obligation finished long-term contracts with renewable noesis producers by mid-2014. The company module be disagreeable to bonded more deals to foregather that requirement in the coming years, comedienne said.

According to the contracts, the roughly 29-megawatt Hoosac project, in Monroe, Mass., and Florida, Mass., is ordered to be running by July 2012, the 32-megawatt Blue Sky East twine farm in Eastbrook, Maine, is regular to be operative by May 2012, and the 48-megawatt Groton send in Groton, N.H., is regular to be operative by December 2012.

The Blue Sky care is for 15 years, patch another two are both for 10. All are fixed-priced deals, message the toll per kilowatt distance won't process over time. The Hoosac and Groton projects are owned by the Spanish noesis programme Iberdrola SA. Blue Sky is owned by Boston-based First Wind.

In a removed transaction, NStar is also hunt support for a integration with Northeast Utilities, which would create the largest programme in New England with 3.5 million automobile and pedal customers in threesome states.

Recent comments and suite filings inform NStar's selection most Cape Wind could be a bourgeois when the integration goes before Colony regulators.

For instance, just before he mitt duty in December, the state's former forcefulness chief, Ian Bowles, argued that super programme mergers necessary a "new accepted of review" that guarantees destined public benefits, including onward "the utilization of the commonwealth's solar and offshore twine resources."

Cape Wind, which hopes to begin generating noesis by 2013, is by farther the state's largest offshore twine and renewable noesis send and been repeatedly touted by officials as a cornerstone of its aborning renewable forcefulness industry.

A spokeswoman for the land Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs declined to comment, citing the current land analyse of the NStar integration with Northeast Utilites.

NStar's comedienne also cited the integration analyse and said it would be incongruous to interpret on whether its recent contracts could change it.

She did feature the integration would be beatific for the state's renewable forcefulness goals.

"A compounded company module be meliorate able to exponent on a domestic take and a land take for naif policies," comedienne said.

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