A FEDERAL JUDGE ruled against two fishing groups who were challenging federal environmental approvals granted to Vineyard Wind for the construction of its wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. US District Court Judge Indira Talwani granted summary judgment to Vineyard Wind and various agencies within the US Interior Department and denied summary judgments […]
Offshore Wind
Posted inEnergy, Environment
New York rejects bid to renegotiate offshore wind contracts
NEW YORK OFFICIALS followed the lead of regulators in Massachusetts on Thursday, rejecting bids by four offshore wind developers to renegotiate the prices they were awarded in previously approved contracts because of sharply rising and unexpected costs. The decision means the developers will have to either stand by the terms of their current contracts — […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Healey announces 3-state offshore wind procurement
NERVOUS ABOUT rising prices for offshore wind power, the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are banding together to solicit larger wind farm projects that hopefully will come with lower price tags. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced the three-state partnership at an offshore wind conference in Boston Wednesday morning. Individually, the three states were […]
Posted inEnergy
DPU approves termination of SouthCoast wind contract
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Monday gave its blessing to an agreement terminating offshore wind contracts between the state’s three utilities and SouthCoast Wind, even as utilities in Connecticut moved to terminate an offshore wind contract there. The agreement approved by the DPU requires SouthCoast to pay a total of $60 million in […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind agrees to pay $60m to terminate power purchase agreements
THE DEVELOPER of SouthCoast Wind on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $60 million to the state’s three leading utilities to terminate power purchase agreements the company negotiated last year to build its wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard. The SouthCoast proposal, if it is approved by the Department of Public Utilities, would be the […]
Posted inEnergy
Avangrid provides on-the-water glimpse of offshore wind future
WIND FARM DEVELOPER Avangrid provided a preview of coming attractions on Wednesday, taking a group of lawmakers, environmental advocates, and reporters out to the construction site of the nation’s first commercial scale wind farm. No wind turbines are up yet at Vineyard Wind 1, a $4 billion joint venture of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. […]
Posted inEnergy, Government
Ominous offshore wind news from Rhode Island
IN WHAT COULD BE a foreshadowing of future offshore wind pricing, Rhode Island’s leading utility this week opted not to move forward with a project called Revolution Wind 2 because the cost of the electricity was deemed too high. “Higher interest rates, increased costs of capital and supply chain expenses, as well as the uncertainty […]
Posted inEnergy
Avangrid agrees to pay $48m to terminate offshore wind deal
AVANGRID AND THE STATE’SÂ three major utilities on Monday agreed to terminate a power purchase agreement they signed just last year, with the offshore wind developer agreeing to pay a total of $48 million to put the contract for Commonwealth Wind behind it. The $48 million termination payment will be paid in three installments to the […]
Posted inEnergy
Campbell at odds with Healey on offshore wind
ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell and Gov. Maura Healey are the closest of political allies, but they are staking out very different positions on the state’s next offshore wind procurement. The Healey administration is proposing a very large procurement of up to 3,600 megawatts to not only make up for 2,400 megawatts worth of projects that […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Big decisions looming on offshore wind
EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS a picture surfaces out of New Bedford showing ships bringing in the giant parts needed to assemble Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first commercial-scale wind farm. The eye-catching images are a reminder that offshore wind is coming, but of late the news about the fledgling industry suggests the rollout is going to […]