Massachusetts, Rhode Island Award Nearly 2.9 GW Capacity in First US Multi-State Offshore Wind Auction

Massachusetts and Rhode Island have published the results of their first multi-state offshore wind solicitation, selecting nearly 2.9 GW of offshore wind power. As a part of the procurement, Massachusetts selected 2,678 MW in total from three projects and Rhode Island awarded 200 MW to one project.

Massachusetts selected 1,087 MW of the multi-state 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.

Through this procurement, offshore wind is said to power over 125,000 Rhode Island homes and 1.4 million Massachusetts households. All three projects intend to utilise Project Labor Agreements (PLAs).

“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 Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee.

The SouthCoast Wind project, with a total capacity of 1,287 MW, will be shared between Massachusetts, receiving 1,087 MW, and Rhode Island, which will take the remaining 200 MW.

The offshore wind project is being developed by Ocean Winds, a 50/50 joint venture owned by EDP Renewables and ENGIE.

The permitting is on schedule with several important milestones in the coming months, including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) progressing the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement, said Ocean Winds.

The project’s bid includes numerous commitments and investments with partners and the community, featuring USD 93 million allocated to initiatives such as local workforce development, fisheries and marine science research, environmental justice, and ratepayer support.

SouthCoast Wind plans to marshall its turbines at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, have its operations and maintenance (O&M) port at Foss Terminal in New Bedford, and open a crew transfer and administrative hub in Rhode Island.

Project construction, which is expected in late 2025, will commence once it has received all federal, state, and local permits and a pending final investment decision.

Iberdrola’s Avangrid Renewables has been awarded 791 MW by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the multi-state regional offshore wind solicitation. New England Wind 1 is an offshore wind development located in the federal lease area OCS-A-0534, about 30 miles south of Barnstable, Massachusetts, and making landfall under the Craigville Beach parking lot in Barnstable.

The project will border Vineyard Wind 1, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind farm currently under construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

BOEM approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore projects in July, following the federal agency’s Record of Decision (ROD) in April.

According to Avangrid, New England Wind 1 will create more than 4,400 full-time equivalent jobs and bring USD 3 billion of local investment, including a new marshalling port in Salem and a new offshore wind manufacturing facility in New Bedford.

If a power purchase agreement (PPA) is signed and approved, then the offshore wind farm can begin construction in 2025, with a majority of investment taking place between 2027 and 2029, and reach full commercial operation in 2029, according to the developer.

The third project selected, Vineyard Wind 2, will deliver up to 800 MW of its 1,200 MW capacity. The offshore wind farm will be located 29 miles south of Nantucket in lease area OCS-522, held by funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

The project is expected to reduce carbon pollution in New England by 2.1 million tonnes per year, equivalent to taking 414,000 cars off the road, according to Vineyard Offshore.

The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal will be the staging site for the project’s wind turbine installation, and O&M will be located in New Bedford.

In October 2023, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on employing a coordinated selection of offshore wind projects through each of their respective offshore wind energy generation solicitations – the first time neighbouring US states teamed up to procure offshore wind capacity.

Massachusetts launched its fourth and largest offshore wind solicitation to date on 30 August 2023, seeking 3.6 GW of new generation capacity, and Rhode Island and Connecticut opened their offshore wind solicitations in October 2023 for 1.2 GW and 2 GW of offshore wind, respectively.

In March this year, Connecticut and Rhode Island revealed they received proposals from Avangrid Renewables, Ørsted, SouthCoast Wind Energy, and Vineyard Offshore, while Massachusetts received bids from Avangrid Renewables, SouthCoast Wind Energy, and Vineyard Offshore.

Last month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) selected the New England states’ Power Up New England proposal for USD 389 million in federal funding to support investments in offshore wind transmission and multi-day batter storage infrastructure.

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