The Massachusetts Legislature enacted and sent to the Governor a bill which would require the state to contract for 1,600 MW of offshore wind power by 2027.
Early last month we reported that the Massachusetts House and Senate were working on passing an energy bill that would see the state solicit as much as 2 GW of offshore wind power by 2027. That bill was finally passed, though at a lower offshore wind requirement than was originally proposed.
“I don’t think that where we ended up is nearly as strong as where the Senate was,” said State Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, Senate chairman of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “But both the administration and the House had a far narrower view, and that made for a rather difficult negotiation.”
The bill requires that “distribution companies enter into cost-effective long-term contracts for offshore wind energy generation equal to approximately 1,600 megawatts of aggregate nameplate capacity not later than June 30, 2027.”
“The adoption of this legislation is a landmark moment for Massachusetts’ clean energy future and a victory for the Commonwealth’s residents and businesses,” said Thomas Brostrøm, General Manager of North America, DONG Energy Wind Power. “This bill will allow the creation of a viable offshore wind energy industry here in Massachusetts, delivering cost effective clean energy, helping the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
DONG Energy’s praise of the move is unsurprising, considering that it has already acquired the rights to build offshore wind energy in waters south of Martha’s Vineyard.
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