State officials are looking for an offshore wind company to build a new farm that could produce more than a quarter of Massachusetts’ annual electricity demand, according to filings made public Tuesday.
Beacon Hill is pitching the new push for wind energy as a big win for Massachusetts ratepayers, with Gov. Maura Healey saying the state is “all-in on offshore wind and ready to be the industry’s hub.” If approved, the Healey administration said the new project would be the biggest in New England’s history.
“Our proposal is a commitment to Massachusetts ratepayers to chase after all clean energy for our homes and business,” the Democratic governor said in a statement, adding the state is looking for up to 3,600 megawatts, or 25% of the state’s annual electricity demand.
The administration said that its project request — filed with the Department of Public Utilities on Tuesday — places an emphasis on supporting low-income workers, workers of color, and workers from “impacted environmental justice communities.”
The request was drafted to “boost” the industry in the state and “ensure” that local ratepayers and businesses get the affordable, clean energy “they deserve,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper.
“The clean energy transition is about the people of Massachusetts. Aggressively procuring wind energy will deliver cleaner air, lower energy bills, and good-paying jobs,” Tepper said in a statement.
Any project would need to take into consideration impacts on the environment and fisheries, according to state filings.
And it also requires bidders to enter into an agreement with the state and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center “to provide various support for low-income ratepayers,” the Healey administration said in its statement.
A 2016 law focused on clean energy authorized the state to procure up to 5,600 megawatts of offshore wind electricity and if the new push is successful, the additional power would put Massachusetts on track to meet that authorization.
But not all groups are on board with the new solicitation.
Right-leaning Mass Fiscal Alliance criticized one part of Healey’s plan that allows bidders to submit an alternative “indexed pricing proposal intended to reduce risk to bidders and ratepayers” to account for inflation and other economic trends.
Massachusetts has some of the most expensive electricity costs in the country and “the Healey administration is publicly signaling to offshore wind companies that the number one priority is to construct these turbines and not keep costs low for ratepayers,” said Mass Fiscal spokesman Paul Craney.
“Ratepayers should be worried. If offshore wind companies are allowed to pass the inflation costs to the ratepayers, they absolutely will. The Healey administration is devaluing ratepayers in order to help get this latest project done,” Craney said in a statement.
This is not the first time Massachusetts has taken a crack at building an offshore wind farm.
This next procurement represents the fourth time the state has gone after more clean energy. And it comes as the developer of a 1,200-megawatt wind farm is looking to rework its contact with the state after citing higher costs than the original agreement.
The Conservation Law Foundation applauded the new offshore wind effort.
“If we’re going to meet the state’s ambitious climate goals, we need to seriously ramp up the development of renewable energy, and responsibly sited offshore wind is crucial. Fossil fuels like natural gas pollute our air and worsen the climate crisis, and this is yet another step towards leaving them in the past where they belong,” CLF Massachusetts Vice President Caitlin Peale Sloan said.
Herald wire services contributed to this report.