Gov. Charlie Baker wants to eliminate cost restrictions on offshore wind projects linked to Massachusetts.
In a bill filed Thursday, Gov. Baker proposes nixing the requirement that each new offshore wind project must cost less than the project that preceded it. The bill also takes the lion’s share of decisionmaking in the bid process away from the state’s three big utilities — National Grid, Eversource, and Unitil — and creates a new model in which “the state’s Department of Energy Resources would choose the successful projects with technical assistance from the utilities,” according to State House News Service.
Through the use of $750 million in federal stimulus money, the bill would also establish a clean energy investment fund.
“The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center would administer the fund to provide support for the advancement of clean energy technology, help fund higher education efforts to develop and train the offshore wind workforce, support research and development efforts, and provide for ‘the long-term coexistence and sustainability of the fishing and clean energy industries,’” State House News Service reported.
“Massachusetts has about 1,600 MW of offshore wind power under contract between Vineyard Wind I and Mayflower Wind, and the most recent procurement round yielded proposals to develop as much as another 1,200 MW. To meet its climate goals, Massachusetts will have to get on pace of bringing about 1 gigawatt (or 1,000 MW) of offshore wind power online each year in the 2030s,” State House News Service reported.
In other offshore wind news, Vineyard Wind announced its Commonwealth Wind project will feature a novel partnership with municipal light plants (MLPs) to purchase offshore wind power.
“Under the agreement,” a release states, “MLPs would be able to purchase up to 146,000 MWh per year in addition to renewable energy credits (RECs), reducing carbon pollution by 300,000 to 400,000 tons over the lifetime of the contract. This agreement will enable the MLPs to make meaningful progress toward meeting renewable energy targets, as required under Massachusetts’ new climate law.”
“MLPs generate 15 percent of the commonwealth’s current energy baseload, and until now they have not had the option of procuring power from the state’s ambitious offshore wind projects. With the announcement of this partnership, that’s no longer the case,” Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen said through a release. “We know that municipalities like [Energy New England’s] owners have goals to green their energy usage, and with this partnership in place, we can help them take meaningful steps toward this goal.”