New Massachusetts Bill Extends Offshore Wind Contracts to 30 Years, Heads to Governor’s Desk

November 18, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The Massachusetts State Legislature has passed a clean energy bill aimed at strengthening future offshore wind contracts. Among other provisions, the bill would allow the state to negotiate contracts of up to 30 years, extending the current 20-year limit.

According to Massachusetts State Senator Karen E. Spilka, the legislation allows future offshore wind contracts to be set for terms of 15 to 30 years instead of the previous 20-year maximum.

It also directs the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to review the effectiveness of existing solicitations in contributing to state emissions requirements and to ensure high labor standards in clean energy, including offshore wind, clean energy generation, and storage procurements.

In addition, the bill further requires DOER, in consultation with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), to issue guidance on long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) between offshore wind developers and municipalities, including approved aggregation plans.

The bill also expands existing tax credits for offshore wind facility employers, who now only need 50 full-time employees to be eligible for tax credits and refundable credits for capital investment, said Senator Karen E. Spilka.

Stephanie Francoeur, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Oceantic Network, issued the following statement in response to the bill: “As the industry continues to create thousands of jobs and drive billions in investment across the nation, this action by the Massachusetts legislature strengthens the industry and applies lessons learned from years of offshore wind energy procurement and project development.”

“Massachusetts has worked with other states on regional transmission and procurement projects, most recently securing 2,678 MW of offshore wind energy and increasing access to local economic and supply chain development. We look forward to Governor Healey’s signing of this bill and working with the state to continue delivering the measurable economic benefits of this American industry.”

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 solicitation in October 2023 for 1.2 GW and 2 GW of offshore wind, respectively.

In September 2024, Massachusetts joined with Rhode Island for the first multi-state procurement, awarding contracts to three projects.

Recently, one of the selected offshore wind projects, SouthCoast Wind, completed its environmental review with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).