Massachusetts Moves Closer to Harvesting Offshore Wind Power

By: Andrea Sears, Public News Service – MA

BOSTON – The Bay State has taken a major step toward construction of the nation’s first major offshore wind farm. Vineyard Wind has been selected to construct the project that will generate 800 megawatts of electric power, enough for a half-million homes.

According to Emily Norton, director of the Sierra Club’s Massachusetts chapter, the project will help the Commonwealth meet carbon emission reductions mandated by the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act. She adds this is just the beginning.

“In the last session the State Legislature required the utilities to procure 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind by 2027,” says Norton. “So this is halfway there.”

The second solicitation for the next 800 megawatts of power is expected to be released by June 2019, but Norton says the Sierra Club would like to see that happen sooner.

On top of the environmental benefits, Norton notes the project will give a big boost to the state’s economy.

“Vineyard Wind estimates that it’s 3,600 local full-time-equivalent jobs, $3.7 billion in energy cost savings,” says Norton. “We think it will be a real benefit to ratepayers in terms of not having to worry about the variability of fossil-fuel costs.”

She adds there is pending legislation that would further expand procurement requirements for offshore wind that could pass during this legislative session.

The state’s Energy Diversity Act also requires procurement of other forms of clean energy, like onshore wind or solar. Norton says with the cost of clean energy falling, new investments in fossil-fuel infrastructure like gas pipelines are becoming much riskier.

“If we spend $6.6 billion to build Access Northeast, for example,” says Norton, “within ten years it would be obsolete because of all the additional clean energy.”

This week, Rhode Island also entered into negotiations with another firm, Deepwater Wind, to procure 400 megawatts of offshore power.