Massachusetts Utilities Request DPU Approval for Mayflower, Commonwealth Wind Contracts

Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil have executed two long-term contracts with Mayflower Wind and Commonwealth Wind for their 405 MW and 1,200 MW projects, respectively, and have now submitted the agreements to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for review and approval.

The contracts with the Electric Distribution Companies (ECDs) were executed this April after Massachusetts selected the Commonwealth Wind project, owned by Avangrid Renewables (Iberdrola’s US renewables company), and the Mayflower Wind project, owned by Shell and Ocean Winds, in the state’s 83C III offshore wind energy procurement in December 2021.

This was the third Request for Proposals (RFP) for offshore wind energy projects in Massachusetts and the largest to date in terms of awarded capacity. The first two rounds saw offshore wind capacity awarded to the same developers: the 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1 and the 804 MW Mayflower Wind projects.

Vineyard Wind 1, which is currently under construction, is the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in the US to get federal approval.

Last year, Massachusetts Government announced that it will procure an additional 2,400 MW of offshore wind energy by 2027, adding to the state’s previous solicitation that secured 1,600 MW of offshore wind capacity as a result of An Act Relative to Energy Diversity, signed by Governor Baker in 2016.

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