Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials announced on Friday they plan to buy power from three new offshore wind farms, signaling that energy regulators in both states still consider the renewable energy source economically viable in New England after an industry wide contraction last year.
Private utility companies in both states will now negotiate contracts to purchase up to 2,878 megawatts of electricity from the selected wind projects. The electricity prices under those contracts will not be publicized until they are submitted to state regulators for approval later this year.
The announcement came as part of a joint procurement process involving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The goal was to make it possible for southern New England to buy offshore wind power in bulk, making the electricity cheaper for each individual state.
But the lion’s share of the electric capacity announced in the procurement so far — 2,676 of the 2,876 megawatts — would ultimately flow to Massachusetts. Rhode Island committed to securing the remaining 200 megawatts, which amounts to only one-sixth of the target Rhode Island officials set last fall. Connecticut officials were not ready to announce any viable projects on Friday.
“The evaluation of project bids remains underway in Connecticut,” a spokesman for the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said, “and we will announce a final decision in our solicitation at a future date.”
Massachusetts officials said growing the pipeline of offshore wind farms will help make it cheaper for other states to solicit power in the future.
“These projects will help create a stronger economy, massive economic development, and, importantly, lower electricity costs for our residents and our businesses,” Gov. Maura Healey said.
Three offshore wind farms selected
SouthCoast Wind, formerly known as Mayflower Wind, proposed the largest of the three wind farms selected through the procurement process so far. The developer was essentially rebidding 1,287 megawatts from a previous project that it canceled last year after rising construction costs made it unprofitable to pursue under electricity prices negotiated before the pandemic.
Rhode Island plans to purchase the entirety of its 200 megawatts from SouthCoast Wind, with the project’s remaining 1,087 megawatts going to Massachusetts. Construction for the project would be marshaled out of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. SouthCoast Wind said it plans to begin construction next year and deliver power to the grid by 2030.
New England 1, developed by Avangrid, was selected to provide Massachusetts with 791 megawatts of electric capacity, another rebid of a project canceled last year. Avangrid would center its construction operations in Salem, where the developer said it is committing $130 million in upfront and lease payments to an offshore wind port facility under development there. Massachusetts officials said New England Wind 1 could begin construction “as early as next year” and is expected to provide electricity in 2029.
Vineyard Wind 2, developed by Vineyard Offshore, is the smallest of the three projects. It would provide 800 megawatts of electric capacity to Massachusetts. Vineyard Offshore did not publicize any target dates for constructing or completing the project, though it pledged to use Salem’s offshore wind port facility as the staging site for turbine installation.
Combined, the three wind farms are estimated to generate enough electricity to power more than 1.4 million homes when operating at full capacity.
Economic development promises
State officials touted that the three wind farms would also create thousands of construction jobs in seaports like Salem, New London and New Bedford. The developers all pledged to sign project labor agreements that would set aside a portion of those construction jobs for building trades unions.
But New Bedford emerged as the region’s dominant operations and maintenance hub. It’s the closest industrial seaport to the area the federal government set aside for offshore wind development, which begins about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
Avangrid, SouthCoast Wind, and Vineyard Offshore are all planning to build facilities in New Bedford for workers to monitor and repair their wind farms.
Andrew Saunders said his investment group will construct the facilities for SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore on the Foss Marine Terminal. Saunders said the operations and maintenance hubs will create generational employment opportunities in New Bedford.
“There are kids sitting in middle school today that will retire working offshore wind jobs,” Saunders said.
