The Baker-Polito Administration has selected two offshore wind projects, Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Wind, to move forward to contract negotiations to provide a combined total of 1,600 megawatts (MW) of clean and affordable energy to Massachusetts ratepayers.
The selected projects, in combination with two previous projects procured since Governor Charlie Baker signed comprehensive energy legislation in 2016, bring the total amount of offshore wind procured by the Administration to approximately 3,200 MW, enough clean energy to power 1.6 million homes.
The recent selection, announced by energy and environmental affairs secretary Kathleen Theoharides at the Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown, also advances critical economic development priorities for the Commonwealth while securing significant clean, affordable and resilient energy for Massachusetts residents and businesses.
“Massachusetts has been a national leader in the offshore wind industry and today’s announcement is another major milestone with the selection of two projects that double the amount of offshore wind power secured by the Commonwealth,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “The bipartisan energy legislation our Administration worked with the Legislature to pass in 2016 has unlocked record low pricing and significant economic investment through three separate procurements, and the projects selected today further illustrate the potential offshore wind presents for our climate goals, our local workforce and our port communities.”
“This historic procurement builds on our administration’s continued investments in climate and clean energy policies that have helped reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These procurements have increased the emphasis on environmental justice and workforce diversity, maintained cost-effectiveness and increased the size and scale of the solicitation, securing significant benefits for Massachusetts ratepayers.”
The selected projects include a 400 MW proposal from Mayflower Wind and a 1,200 MW proposal from Vineyard Wind. The Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Wind bids were selected for contract negotiations based on criteria established under a Request for Proposal (RFP) released by the Administration in May 2021. In this procurement, the Administration bids included enhanced criteria for economic evaluation of the benefits for ratepayers, the project’s ability to foster employment and economic development in the Commonwealth, the project’s environmental impacts and impacts on Environmental Justice communities, the extent to which a project demonstrates that it avoids or mitigates impacts to regional commercial fisheries, and the bidder’s proposed plans to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of the project. As a result of a stringent review, a portfolio of proposals from both bidders was determined to provide the greatest overall value to Massachusetts customers by delivering a combined total of approximately 1,600 MW of offshore wind capacity per year while providing substantial ratepayer benefits.
During the bidding process, both Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Wind proposed wind energy at a competitive price and with substantial economic development opportunities for the Commonwealth. By selecting a portfolio of projects from both bidders, the Commonwealth will secure impressive investments in job creation and economic development. Bidders also responded to new provisions in the solicitation, included by the Administration for the first time, that required plans to support diversity, equity and inclusion, including Workforce Diversity and Supplier Diversity Program plans. Bidders were also required to describe proposed strategies to actively promote access to employment and contracting opportunities for minority, women, veterans, LGBT and persons with disabilities. Bidders also included assessments of impacts, both positive and negative, on EJ populations in the Commonwealth, and plans for investments and engagement with affected communities. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will work with the winning bidders to track and report on progress towards their commitments regarding economic development, environmental justice, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
“This new agreement for an additional 400MW includes over $42 million in economic development initiatives across the South Coast region,” said Michael Brown, chief executive officer of Mayflower Wind Energy LLC. “In addition to creating approximately 14,000 jobs over the life of the project, we also will build our Operations and Maintenance port in Fall River and work with Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset to design and build our crew transfer vessel. All of this is on top of the $77.5 million in benefits expected from the first 800 MW of the project. This win is the result of the extraordinary collaboration between our team and the many communities and stakeholders we have worked with over the past six months. It also reaffirms the quality and competitiveness of our bid which delivers immense community value and low-cost renewable energy.”
As part of the Administration’s RFP drafting process, for the first time under a Section 83C procurement, the Distribution Companies and DOER released the draft RFP for public review and received numerous public and stakeholder comments. The RFP built on the Commonwealth’s previous national leadership for offshore wind procurements, and included changes made in response to the public comments, consultations with state agencies, and lessons learned from prior solicitations. The RFP was also amended to address recommendations DOER made at the conclusion of its offshore wind energy transmission investigation.
The selection of a portfolio of projects from Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Wind concludes a rigorous solicitation and evaluation by DOER and the Commonwealth’s Electric Distribution Companies: Eversource, National Grid and Unitil. Additionally, the solicitation was monitored by an Independent Evaluator that was jointly chosen by DOER and the Office of the Attorney General and was responsible for overseeing the process to ensure that all proposals were evaluated in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.
In March of 2021, Governor Baker signed comprehensive climate change legislation that increased the Administration’s authorization to solicit an additional 2400 MW of offshore wind, bringing the state’s total commitment to 5,600 MW.