| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: Massachusetts
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Cape Cod residents say no to offshore wind transmission lines under beaches
Three iconic beaches are slated to be landing spots for high-voltage cables carrying power from offshore wind. But not if these residents get their way. The scene at Barnstable High School on a recent Monday night felt like a homecoming rally – all anxious energy, cheers, and hugs. A crush of bodies flooded the hallway as revelers greeted friends and handed out fliers to people pouring into the auditorium. Except these weren’t high schoolers filling the corridor. This was a public . . . Complete story »
Shell exits US SouthCoast wind farm contract, agrees to pay penalty
Shell’s finance chief said on Thursday the firm had exited a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the planned SouthCoast windfarm off the coast of Massachusetts, agreeing to pay a penalty rather than face rising costs for building the project. Energy firms from BP (BP.L) to Orsted (ORSTED.CO) have announced hefty writedowns in recent days for their U.S. windfarm projects in the face of high inflation. Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Ron Bousso Complete story »
A tricky, sticky mineral that’s challenging offshore wind developers
Offshore wind developers are encountering an unexpected challenge on the East Coast seafloor: a crushable, green mineral called glauconite, sometimes precisely where they plan to install wind turbines. The mineral – which dates back to the age of the dinosaurs – is weaker and less predictable than sand, scientists say, presenting a new engineering puzzle for researchers and wind developers to solve. Glauconite’s behavior poses a “significant risk” to offshore wind development, said a paper published this year by the U.S. Bureau . . . Complete story »
Barnstable Town Council reins in offshore wind projects, pausing further action for now
With the future of Avangrid’s Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind projects in limbo after the offshore wind developer backed out of previously negotiated power purchase agreements in two states, members of the Barnstable Town Council are reining in further action related to the projects, for now. The board voted unanimously not only to pull back their prior authorization for Town Manager Mark Ells to begin negotiating a host community agreement for Commonwealth Wind, but also to postpone officially signing . . . Complete story »
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 termination fees, which will be rebated to customers, while allowing the joint venture of Shell Energy Ventures and Ocean Wind North America to walk away . . . Complete story »
“Road toward extinction” – Nantucket group appeals Vineyard Wind decision
A group of Nantucket residents has appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Vineyard Wind offshore wind energy project, which is currently under construction in the waters southwest of the island. The group ACK For Whales – formerly known as Nantucket Residents Against Turbines – filed the appeal Saturday with the First Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals and is seeking to overturn the May 2023 decision of U.S. District Court judge Indira Talwani, who dismissed . . . Complete story »
State governors seeking federal help for offshore wind industry
A group of U.S. governors is calling on the Biden administration to help ease the “extraordinary economic challenges” that have combined to threaten not only future offshore wind development, but also the number of projects that are already under way. In a letter submitted to the White House, the governors of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island say “inflationary pressures, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering supply-chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic” have resulted . . . Complete story »
DPU approves termination of offshore wind contract
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Wednesday approved without comment the termination of an offshore wind power purchase agreement negotiated between Eversource and Commonwealth Wind and approved by the DPU at the end of last year. Avangrid, the developer behind Commonwealth Wind, sought the termination after it concluded rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine had made it impossible to finance the project under the existing terms of the power purchase agreement. The termination agreement was . . . Complete story »
Rhode Island puts pause on key part of offshore wind project
State regulators have hit the pause button on permitting for a transmission line that would run up the Sakonnet River from SouthCoast Wind’s large offshore wind farm proposed in ocean waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board voted unanimously on Thursday to stay the application process for the cable that SouthCoast Wind needs to deliver electricity to the mainland grid from its proposed $5-billion project that would power more than a million homes. What led . . . Complete story »
Whale carcasses on Martha’s Vineyard fuel speculation about wind turbines
The unusual spate of whale deaths coincides with the early stages of a massive expansion of offshore wind in waters off the East Coast. Vineyard Wind this month became the first of over a dozen offshore wind developers to begin construction. Conservation groups and offshore wind critics are calling for an investigation into the deaths of two humpback whales that washed up on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard last week. On Monday, June 12, a decomposing humpback whale was found . . . Complete story »