Rhode Island, Massachusetts Announce Largest Offshore Wind Selection in New England History

Selection of 2,878 megawatts from three projects will power the equivalent of 1.4 million Massachusetts homes and over 125,000 Rhode Island homes

PROVIDENCE, RI – Rhode Island and Massachusetts announced today the selection of 2,878 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind in the first coordinated procurement of its kind. As a part of the procurement, Massachusetts selected 2,678 MW in total from three projects, and Rhode Island selected 200 MW from one project. Through this procurement, offshore wind will power over 125,000 Rhode Island homes and 1.4 million Massachusetts homes.

Massachusetts selected 1,087 MW of the multistate 1,287 MW SouthCoast Wind project, with Rhode Island Energy awarding the remaining 200 MW. Massachusetts also selected the 791 MW New England Wind 1 project, and up to 800 MW of the 1,260 MW Vineyard Wind 2 project.

“Today New England is showing continued leadership on seizing offshore wind opportunities, as part of nationwide clean energy progress that is surging under the Biden-Harris Administration,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Just yesterday, the United States surpassed fifteen gigawatts of offshore wind projects approved – all under the Biden-Harris Administration – and today’s step forward by New England will help create even more good-paying jobs and local economic benefits as we strengthen the power grid with clean American energy. We will continue harnessing tools from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to enable this progress, including federal funding awarded last month for New England grid upgrades, to support the growth of a new American industry that is activating factories, ports, and shipyards across the nation.”

“Today marks a historic milestone for Rhode Island and Massachusetts as we join forces to drive the largest offshore wind procurement in New England’s history,” said Governor Dan McKee. “With this project, Rhode Island is taking a significant step forward in meeting our Act on Climate goals and building a clean energy economy that benefits all Rhode Islanders. Together with Massachusetts, we are setting a precedent for regional collaboration in clean energy and advancing a sustainable, resilient future.”

“Today we are proud to announce that, along with our partners in Rhode Island, we are taking an important step towards energy independence, cleaner air and transforming our economy. Simply put, we are going big,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “This selection is New England’s and Massachusetts’ largest offshore wind selection to date. We’ll power 1 million more Massachusetts homes with clean, renewable energy, create thousands of good, union jobs, and generate billions of dollars in economic activity. The world will look to New England for the future of clean energy.”

“Rhode Island is happy to work together with Massachusetts to continue our offshore wind investments and advance our state’s commitment to a 100% renewable energy standard by 2033,” said Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources Acting Commissioner Chris Kearns. “The selected project by Rhode Island Energy would grow the state’s offshore wind resources, over the long-term reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, provide support to the state’s transition to electrification measures and provide good economic development and job opportunities.”

“Our region is heavily reliant on gas that comes to us from pipelines and ships. For decades, our entire region has experienced significant swings in prices while also worrying about reliability. Offshore wind will bring stability to Massachusetts at a critical time,” said Massachusetts Secretary for Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper. “Combined with solar and hydropower, Massachusetts future resource mix promises stability as our economy continues to grow. By going big with projects now, we will be able to get ahead of the world in the global race for developers, vessels, materials, and expertise.”

“Offshore wind is a critical tool in fighting climate change,” said Massachusetts Commissioner of Energy Resources Elizabeth Mahony. “Every year of progress we make in fostering this important clean energy source is a step closer to ending our reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels. Hot summers, stormy seas, and devastating floods are hitting communities across New England hard. We’re grateful to our partners in Rhode Island for joining together on the solution and I’m proud of my team for leading the state’s first direct procurement of offshore wind.”

Recent Advancements

Together, these three projects will accelerate the offshore wind industry by ushering in investment in the domestic supply chain and port infrastructure. Recent analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy found that the offshore wind industry will achieve “liftoff” when the sector deploys a steady stream of projects, beginning today, to help states achieve state clean energy targets. Today’s announcement from the two states represents a substantial contribution toward the goal of deploying the first 10 to 15 GW of U.S. offshore wind, which will establish the key enabling infrastructure and supply chain investment to support a long-term domestic offshore wind industry.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy selected the New England states’ Power Up New England proposal for $389 million in federal funding to support investments in offshore wind transmission and multi-day battery storage infrastructure. In addition, federal regulators accepted an ISO New England proposal to implement a new, state-driven procurement process for regionally beneficial transmission. This approval positions the New England states to request that ISO New England issue a competitive solicitation for proposals to address longer-term transmission needs, such as transmission to interconnect offshore wind or other clean energy resources, in late 2024 or early 2025.

Next Steps

Following this announcement, Rhode Island Energy (RIE) will begin contract negotiations with the selected developer. Additionally, RIE and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources will begin to work with Commerce Rhode Island on an MOU with the selected developer to memorialize and track the commitments made in their bid regarding economic development. Any contract resulting from this solicitation will be filed with the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for review and potential approval. If a contract is filed at the PUC, more information about the project and the evaluation process will be made public, including project pricing and net benefits analysis. RIE estimates a contract may be filed at the PUC in December.

Similarly, the Massachusetts Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs) will begin contract negotiations with the selected developers. Additionally, DOER and MassCEC will begin negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with each developer to memorialize and track the commitments made in their bids regarding economic development, environmental justice communities, and low-income ratepayer benefits. Contracts resulting from this solicitation will be filed with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for review and approval. When contracts are filed at the DPU, more information about the projects and the evaluation process will be made public, including project pricing and net benefits analysis, and economic development commitments. DOER estimates contracts will be filed at the DPU this winter.