Governor Signs Early Agreement with Offshore Wind Developers

NEW BEFORD, MA — On the heels of a clean energy bill passed this summer, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a letter of intent Tuesday with three offshore wind developers to lease the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal for future wind projects

The companies are DONG Energy, Deepwater Wind and OffshoreMW, Baker and members of his administration formally announced in New Bedford Friday. All three hold leases in the federally identified offshore wind energy development areas located 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, according to the governor's office.

According to a press release from that office, the Letter of Intent with the offshore wind developers represents a commitment to a two-year lease at $5.7 million annually to use the terminal as a staging and deployment location for future wind projects.

The energy legislation signed this summer requires utilities to competitively solicit and contract for approximately 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind and 1,200 megawatts of other clean energy generation, such as hydropower. It catalyzes the development of Massachusetts' offshore wind industry, and represents the largest commitment by any state in the nation to offshore wind, according to the Baker administration.

The Boston Globe reports that although the three developers have leasing rights to those federal waters off Martha's Vineyard, construction wouldn't take place simultaneously. "Instead, they would be staggered, in phases, over the next decade," says the paper.

"The quasi-public Clean Energy Center may need to wait a bit for that first lease payment, though. Bidding isn’t expect to start until mid-2017, and the winner isn’t expected to start using the port until 2019, at the earliest," the paper notes.

Read more from The Boston Globe here.

Image via Gov. Charlie Baker Twitter