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Three states in the New England region, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), a first of its kind in the country, for cooperation in offshore wind procurement.
According to a media release by the office of Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, the multi-state coordination MOU creates a pathway for a potential coordinated selection of offshore wind as each state solicits offshore wind energy generation through their respective state procurements.
The MOU was signed by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources.
Through this MOU, the three states will together seek multi-state offshore wind proposals that would expand benefits for the region, capture cost reductions by developing projects at scale, and develop into viable projects. In coordinating, the states will amplify efforts to foster regional economic development, create high-paying, in-demand jobs, and promote environmental justice and equity, according to the statement.
The three states request that offshore wind developers submit multi-state offshore wind project proposals for consideration by the soliciting parties through their respective offshore wind procurements for selection in 2024. Combined, the states’ solicitations are for up to 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind.
Actual project selections will depend on the states’ individual assessments of proposals’ costs and benefits to ratepayers and other evaluation criteria specified in the states’ requests for proposals. Any two or three states may agree to select a multi-state proposal or proposals up to each state’s procurement authority and split the anticipated megawatts and renewable energy certificates from a single project, according to the statement.
“Offshore wind is an important resource in meeting our Act on Climate and renewable energy goals,” said McKee. “Regional collaboration through this three states MOU will not only help in advancing offshore wind projects of large scale by securing cost-effective energy prices for ratepayers – but it also provides a significant opportunity for long-term economic development that the offshore wind industry will bring to the three states”.
“The climate crisis requires us to act in new and innovative ways. Massachusetts is proud to join with our neighboring states to continue to grow New England’s offshore wind industry,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “By working together, we can amplify the many benefits of offshore wind for all three states, including regional economic development opportunities, healthier communities, lower energy bills, and advantages to environmental justice populations and low-income ratepayers”.
“We can go further when we work together, and I’m excited to be collaborating with our neighbors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on this MOU, which opens up the potential for us to procure clean energy from offshore wind together at more competitive and affordable rates, for the benefit of the residents and businesses in our respective states,” Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said.
To contact the author, email andreson.n.paul@gmail.com
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